A Gamindustrian Tale
by Narino
Summary: At times, greatness is born from but a single spark. Through tragedy, a young girl makes a vow to reach for heights she never would have otherwise; from this vow comes forth a heroine beyond all but the very gods. Nourished by their light, she will thrive, rise, and become a grand blaze of glory the like of which Gamindustri has never seen before.
1. Prologue

My, hello. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance; please allow me to introduce myself: I am the Magical Tome Histoire, guardian and advisor to the people and deities of Gamindustri.

Our world is orbiting a single, yellow star and currently holding 4,165,592,112... plus one... plus one... plus... eh, let me spare you the exact number of human inhabitants. Terribly sorry.

It has been 59,049 years since the system was put in place as is and only little longer since CPUs, Console Patron Units, began to spawn as gods and goddesses to watch over our world. I have guided them ever since.

It is a harmonic relationship between the deities and their people, the latter's reverence empowering the former to protect everyone. The faith that strengthens them is what we call Share Energy, a form of power without equal in this realm. In difference to the far more approachable and quantifiable magic, it is only CPUs who can wield Share Energy and put it to good use for their nations.

However, every nation falls in the end. Infighting is one reason, but more sinister means are likelier to cost a CPU's life. Oftentimes, entire generations are lost at once. Nations shatter when left without a deity, be it either due to powerful Monsters attacking, or the darker parts of human nature winning out. Much is lost each and every time.

Yet another always rises from the ashes. Human perseverance is unique indeed, for they always keep a hold of the previous nation's gifts; be those technology, art, or others. When the next generation of CPUs is born, they can build upon what is left from those that came before them, rising ever higher in the process.

...

Goodness me, I have been rambling again. I hope you can forgive me for that?

Ahem... despite everything that was said, CPUs are not the focus of this story. Just between the two of us, it would be rather bland if they were; there is little going on in a deity's day to day life, between work and what little free time they can find.

...although an exception could be made for the girl I chose as my current partner.

Humans, despite being comparably weak overall, have their own ways to shine. Great heroes rise from time to time, to stand aside the CPUs. It is all of them that keep a nation running, who work with each other and help those in need, allowing their protector to focus on the most important matters alone.

It is also humans who fight back the Monsters, courtesy of the Deity of Sin.

Despite your curiousity, I would rather not talk about Her in detail. Just know that She is anathema to all of existence... and there is no other cause that cost as many CPUs as fighting back Her advances. Hatred, strife and every other negative emotion empowers Her ever so much more, to rise again and make another attempt to bring forth the end.

But enough of this. I promised you a story of a human. Of a heroine.

Although... before we begin, how about a little glimpse at the current generation?

**. .**

**. .**

A thundering roar echoed over the plains and made birds flee; with it came the sound of crunching and a pained buzzing.

It was even terrain the creatures had gathered on; a veritable army now stood together. Behind them a robed figure holding up a blue staff faced down their similarly dressed opponent. All kinds of fantastic animals and even some barbarian warriors had come to their aid; there were cobras the size of cars, bears with two heads and even a rabid donkey rampaging against the comparably small horde arrayed before the red sorcerer.

However, despite just having lost their last house-sized beetle, the robed figure on that side kept calm and raised their red wand. The remains of most creatures they called upon so far still littered the battlefield, insectoid wings waving slightly in the upcoming wind.

"Tsk, I knew that was the wrong decision," the figure commented with a dismissive gaze on what had been their strongest creatures. There was a handful of small fry left, but they knew full well of how this was not enough of a sacrifice. Not if they wanted to summon something capable of withstanding the next charge.

There was, however, the Old Rules they just recalled.

Quickly reciting them, the figure began to smirk while their wand started to glow; a bright, scarlet light blinded the blue horde and the sorcerer's voice boomed: "With the blood of the fallen and the living, I call forth the creator of existence! Come, Ancient White Dragon of Apocalypse!"

The light died down on their last word, but wind came up and stopped the enemy creatures from charging their battered foe; the earth began to shake and crumble right in front of the smirking figure, their red wand solemnly directed at its epicenter.

A volcanoe started spitting ash into the sky far off in the distance while a creature rose from the ground, towering far above anything the blue horde could muster; it was, without doubt, a dragon. Its bleached-looking wings spread to reach over far to the forests to its right and to the wide lakes to its left; claws the size of houses tore open the earth ever further and twenty snake-like heads screamed a challenge at the heavens.

"Oi... this is getting slightly unfair," the other figure mumbled while quickly going through their options. Sadly, none of the spells they had at the ready would work due to the dragon's immunity to all magic. This looked bad.

"And now, my Ancient White Dragon of Apocalypse, attack them all and finish this duel!"

**::**

"You know... this is kind of lame."

"Yeah..."

Both sides put down their cards and the bespectacled man who just won the match sighed. "The game's really getting worse with every expansion..."

"Told you so," his taller companion replied with a small smirk and a wink. "But you just _had_ to go and buy the new expansion anyway."

"I'm sorry, okay?" the first one defended himself, but quickly lowered his head and put his cards back into order. "Let's find something else to play."

While they were busy putting away their cards and browsing through the assortment of arcade-games offered to first-class travellers, the woman sitting behind them had to suppress a sigh. She knew the feeling those two had very well, seeing that she loved this particular game quite a bit herself. Heck, she actually had several outfits from its human characters back at home.

To think that she had been so proud about its origin being Lastation; now it really was more of an embarassment.

Alas, it could not be helped. Her nation brought forth this enjoyable game that had turned into an abomination. Some things worked, some things did not, that was life; of course, Noire was not the kind of person to just let life have its way normally, but there were limits on how much she could influence her industry.

Aside from that, today was her day off; no thinking about work, no matter how difficult it was.

Even with how boring this train ride ended up being so far. It had been hours of sitting and drawing rough drafts of what outfits she could sew next, a few blueprints for weapons she might forge to pass the time at home...

She quickly scratched out the doodle of a petite girl in a cute hoodie. No sir, that had never been there.

It was ridiculous, in a way. Goddess Black Heart, ruler of the most successful nation in Gamindustri, bored half to death by a few hours of free time. Noire sighed and smoothed out her grey skirt where the notepad ruffled it a little, then looked out of the window and at the rising sun. It was still early, all things considered. She would reach her destination no later than noon.

For now, the goddess marveled at the pastures her train passed. Far-stretching and green, they were much different than the desert that preceded them. Goddess Purple Heart, Neptune, did marvelous work in reshaping the land. Noire did her best to ignore the patrolling Bit-drones and wandering Monsters; this train was as safe as could be, protected by its fellow machines.

The Land of Purple Progress indeed. Planeptune.

A part of her reflection appeared on the window; a single red eye looking back at her, lips drawn into a half-smile and all other muscles in her face relaxed. It would not stay that way, she already knew; that was all the more reason to be greatful for the fact CPUs could not get wrinkles.

Noire was on her way to Planeptune's capital, Nicos. Just like every year, the four of them had found a date to come together and just... relax. It was Neptune's turn to choose a location this time, she was their hostess.

They allowed themselves no more than a single day for a vacation. She still believed even that much was unnecessary, considering how often CPUs traveled to discuss international business. Even when everyone stayed at home, they almost constantly talked to each other over Scope.

Alas, Neptune was not okay with that. She insisted they take at least a day to meet each other in person and without work looming over them. It made sense, in a way... and Noire got used to it by now. She just reallocated her workload and took shorter breaks in the interim. The moral victory in this matter was hers.

**. .**

**. .**

One only noticed how fast the train was going when it started to slow down.

On top of the decreasing momentum however, Noire got to marvel at the city she currently entered; Nicos was a sea of shining metal illuminated by the sun, its skyline dominated by the largest building in all of Gamindustri: Planeptower, the nation's main Basilicom, reached a full kilometre into the sky. Adding to it was the metal canopy wrapped over the buildings closest to it, as if the tower had donned a cape.

Of course Noire knew the specs, all the solar power panels worked into the canopy and how it supported the giant structure. Yet it was an amazing sight even after seeing it for the first time three hundred years ago. Neptune had it built over three decades, oftentimes joining the effort herself when she found time.

Unfortunately, the large tower soon fell out of sight when the rails led her ride from one of the larger parks into downtown; buildings in Planeptune generally grasped for the sky, so she could only get glimpses of what was behind the first row by looking in-between. It was not much longer until she could disembark from the train and stepped onto a clean station. Dozens of other passengers did the same before and after her. Probably right before rush hour, lucky her.

The CPU also noticed quite a few people that made the ride from Lastation take deep breaths and simply did the same. Air in Planeptune was much cleaner than in her own nation, mostly due to the fact that industry here worked off of alternative forms of energy. Her own factories ran mostly on coal and oil.

It was a little humid this day, so there might be rain approaching in the afternoon or evening. Depending on what her host planned, they might have to readjust their plans.

A faint breeze ruffled Noire's red shirt and made her twintails flutter lightly; the air felt nice on her skin. Though, going by their shivers, it might be a little cold to the humans around her.

There was no luggage to pick up and nothing else to take care of, so the CPU went for the stairway leading downward and headed toward the main terminal. She gently nudged a suitcase on the verge of falling over back up straight while passing by, but nothing else happened.

Nicos itself was... different. Where her own cities mostly relied on well-crafted stone and mortar for buildings and tar for the roads, her neighbouring nation built basically everything out of creamy grey plasteel and superhardened metal. The city shone like a jewel by day.

Then there were the people; all kinds of colours, from the hair on their heads to the clothes on their bodies... and they all had some place to be, some place to go.

Carefully maneuvering herself through the mass, Noire quickly took a stairway upward that brought her from the sidewalk up onto one of the walkways, the bands of hardened energy rolling throughout all of the city. It was... efficient, at least. Also confusing to people unused to basically walking on air, though Noire had a lot of practice from flying around. The walkways were mapped out rather extensively and their borders marked by forcefields to make sure no one fell off.

Yet, the ability to just see traffic pass below and head on to wherever one had to be was interesting, something that most did not get to see normally. It also allowed to split up the crowd somewhat, making the sidewalk on ground level more maneuverable. Not that there was much of a crowd left when Noire turned away from the downtown area, making her way to the outskirts of Nicos. Neptune gave them directions beforehand, so it was pretty easy to navigate the city.

Plus, the girl herself was already waiting in the middle of the sidewalk, perfectly visible in the small trickle of passersby.

Well, she was a woman by all means, but Noire was loathe to think of her as such; Neptune was a little less than a hundred and sixty centimetres tall, petite, and had two big d-pads clipped into her hair, left and right over her eyes. The white hoodie reaching lower than her skirt did not help the image, neither did the short and tousled looking hair; its colour was a bright purple, almost pink.

"Nowa!" And of course, she jumped her the moment Noire got in reach, clinging to the taller CPU with long-practiced ease. "You're here!"

She wanted to scowl and chide her, she really did. But it was nice to have someone be genuinely happy to see her. Neptune had been like that for as long as she could remember, anyway. So Noire just huffed and carefully plucked the lean arms off of herself. "Of course I am."

At least no one was paying much attention to them. This was not Lowee, where public displays of affection were discouraged. After setting down her colleague, Noire looked around. "Where are Blanc and Vert?"

"Not there yet," was what she got in response. Neptune turned around and wandered back to the building she had been standing at, a family restaurant. Nice, open facade and bright colours... that would be a good change of pace at least.

While taking up a position next to Neptune, Noire plucked her skirt back down from where it got a little wrinkled; the purplette just looked at her with this infuriating almost-smirk. Noire _knew_ it always preceded some kind of comment, so just seeing it already strained her patience. She threw a calculating gaze back, only for Neptune to start beaming. "Yep, still no friends."

...

Noire just huffed and ignored the comment. Of course she had friends, she did so for a long time! The other CPU just never accepted the fact after their early years and continued teasing her like this; not everyone could be a social butterfly like Neptune and Vert.

"Naw, stop pouting at me, Nowa!"

"I am not pouting... and stop calling me that!"

It was, for lack of a better term, difficult to interact with Neptune. This sly little girl knew exactly what buttons to push to get through her guard... but at least she also knew when to stop.

"My, flirting so early into the day?"

Both of them turned their heads to look at the third member of their group; casually clad in a green and white sundress, with her curly blonde hair flowing down to her rear like a stream of liquid gold, was Vert. The tallest and also most developed member of their group smiled pleasantly at them, her eyebrows raised slightly and the mirth visible within the twinkling of her blue eyes.

Noire felt a faint blush creep onto her cheeks, but fought it down without mercy and snarled at the taller woman: "This was in no way flirting."

"Would there be any need to deny it so if there was no truth in it, Noire~?" It was said with a playful note on the name, then Vert hid her mouth behind a gloved hand to chuckle. "My, oh my~."

Fuming, Noire tried her best to give a retort; then she noticed quite a few more gazes being on them now. The lastationite CPU dressed a little more inconspicuously to not gain as much attention, but Vert played her eternal youth to the fullest with just a hint of cleavage on the dress, as well as quite a few frills and pristine white gloves to accentuate her being a classy lady.

And people looked at her, men and women alike.

"Nah, just teasing. Good to see you made it." Neptune immediately went in and wrapped her arms around the far taller woman, only for Vert to reciprocate and then press her face into aforementioned cleavage without a second thought. The blonde's hand went through her hair a few times before she answered: "But of course, I would not miss any of these rare occasions for the world."

Noire just rolled her eyes; that was so like Vert she did not even bother. Neptune played along and even buried her head deeper for a moment, then she let go and reemerged. The blonde turned to greet Noire as well, but she only raised an eyebrow at her old friend and held out a hand.

Neptune's clinginess she could bear with and Blanc was as happy about personal space as she was. Vert, however, was indecent to a fault. She thrived from the attention she garnered with her appearance and her preferred method of teasing was to be far too inappropriate. Such as right now, when she used the hand Noire held out to pull her into a tight hug as well, even though she all but told Vert she did not want that. "Yes, yes, hello Vert."

She bore it with stoicism born from centuries of this same song and dance. Of course she could try dodging the hugs, but Vert would just continue to try. Resisting made her more assertive, so the best bet was to ignore her until she lost interest and went to bother someone else.

It was a nice feeling to have these firm arms wrapped around her, granted... but not appropriate!

"Weird that you'd show up at the right moment to drop that line, though," Neptune noted while looking up and down the street. Then she pointed at a nearby crossroad. "You've been hiding around that corner, haven't you?"

After giving Noire one last squeeze, the blonde snickered and let go. "I am afraid I have been found out. In my defense, I rarely get the opportunity." Noire resisted rolling her eyes again; showing exasperation only spurred those two on and she was outnumbered right now.

Or not, considering who she just spied walking down the staircase nearby.

Shorter than even Neptune by a few centimetres, clad in a simple white sundress and with short brown hair framing a completely neutral face. Blanc was the epitome of calm when their gazes met, red silently asking blue for help.

"Oh look, its Blanc!"

And there the neutral expression went, replaced by a frown while both of Noire's tormentors turned their attention to the brunette. Her own gaze became apologeptic now and they shared a moment of mutual understanding. Not that it stopped the petite girl from treading ever closer, her grimace only a little push away from actually taking over the girlish features.

And then the other two were upon her, Vert going for her hug first. She made it a rather normal one though, which may or may not be connected to the fact that two small hands were firmly clutching her hair. The unspoken threat was clear.

After Neptune hugged their last member as well and she noticed once again that she herself was the only one getting tackle-hugged, Noire greeted her with a small wave and a weak smile. "Hey there, Blanc."

"Noire."

Others might only hear the cold voice and assume she was rude, but Noire knew to listen to the missing edge that indicated Blanc was not in a bad mood. With a glance at Neptune and Vert, the taller CPU motioned for the building they stood in front of. "Now that everyone is here, we should go in."

"Great idea! Onwards, ladies!" Vert chuckled while Neptune led them into the restaurant with an almost inappropriate amount of enthusiasm; Blanc only snorted and Noire rolled her eyes again.

The place was rather empty at this time of the day, two hours before school let out and in the middle of the morning shift. It was furnished with bright wood and some leanboxian artworks, the tables sturdy and well-maintained. Noire took in a great many details about the place, from the faint smell of food coming from its kitchen to the fact the windows were arranged so light could never fall directly onto the tables.

After looking around for a moment, the four of them claimed a table at the back wall; none of them really wanted to talk in code because other patrons were listening in, after all.

Neptune gently readjusted her choker while the others checked the menu, the sleek silver metal sitting only slightly loose against her throat. Noire once again wondered just how this trend managed to stay in Planeptune for more than fifty years by now. Vert had a wide variety of comments on the fact basically every citizen wore one of those, be they made of leather, metal or other materials.

It was not particularly important, anyway. Every nation had its quirks.

While they were ordering however, Vert did what she usually did: she leaned forward exactly far enough to allow the waitress a good look into her cleavage, making the poor girl blush and try to turn her eyes away while also futilely attempting to listen properly. In the end, she was forced to ask Vert to repeat herself because she missed half of the order.

Noire just rolled her eyes over the familiar display and idly took notice of Blanc's frown deepening. The neutral lines around her eyes had yet to break, so she was not that angry up until this point. They all knew that she was as prude as her nation. Lowee's goddess had never been comfortable with that kind of thing in public.

But Blanc knew better than to try stopping their companion. It was as futile as attempting to stop Neptune from being hyper. The purplette on her part got going the moment the waitress was out of hearing range: "I've got another invitation for a marriage last week. And this time I'm actually going."

The others shared smiles over that. Those poor souls that thought it was a good joke to formally invite their goddess to such things were always in for a surprise with Neptune. Nonetheless, Noire already saw another headache coming. "Are you sure you can spare the time?"

She did that whenever she could, as Noire well knew. She herself had no time between all the work she was doing for Lastation, but usually sent a letter apologising about having to turn down such invitations; it was a template she just needed to alter marginally, but still.

"Nah, I'll be getting cake and a lot of baffled faces, that's time well spent." Neptune already had her arms folded and leaned back against the chair, a clear sign she would not argue the matter of her 'time well spent' again. Instead, the purplette changed the topic. "Anyway, how's your story going, Blanc?"

The brunette shrugged while Noire watched her. Blanc had been writing fanfiction and original works for centuries, although she never really got to publish them. No matter when they met, the smaller girl always had something she was working on. Just like Noire always had another outfit to make or weapon to forge.

"I made the mistake of looking at the beginning again. There are inconsistencies that need a major rewrite to edit out, so the whole thing is on hold." And there was the reason nothing she wrote was published. As a perfectionist, Blanc was not content with anything she created so far.

"That does sound like a lot of extra work. What was it you were writing again?" Vert did sound curious, even though all of them remembered well enough what it was. Blanc knew that too, according to her raised eyebrow.

"A battle harem." The look in her eyes dared them to say anything about it, but Noire saw no reason for that; Blanc made it clear she was trying to write a proper story with the concept, not just some throwaway stuff hiding the fanservice like certain anime her nation produced.

Vert just chuckled about their colleague's defensiveness and Noire was tempted to huff again. It was always the same with the teasing bunch. Better change the topic before the table exploded. Thinking of Vert brought her to another question. "Say, how is your next edition going?"

"Hm? Ah, yes." The blonde winked at her, indicating that she noticed what Noire was doing and decided to humour her. It was only half of the truth, though; the black-haired CPU _was_ looking forward to their next session.

"Progress is good, I believe. There are still some balancing issues on supplemental rules I added in after your latest... creation, but with the new releases this month taken into account, I should be done within the next three months."

"You're still hoping that Noire won't find any loopholes to abuse?" Much to her annoyance, that was Blanc's first comment on the matter. It was not her fault if the rules had some obvious flaws she could use to her advantage, even less so if her fellow deity and game master did not catch them beforehand.

At least Vert was fair enough to let her get away with them. Then she fixed them with the next edition. It went like this ever since the ruler of Leanbox took up the hobby of creating tabletop-rulebooks; the other CPUs were always her testing group. After all, nary a human could break a system that a goddess could not break.

"You make it sound as if it was my fault the rules have holes visible all the way from Lastation. That aside, someone has to pick up the slack from Neptune playing whatever."

The purplette was busy sipping from her drink, making Noire realise that those had been brought when she was not paying attention. She focussed on her friends, considering how much one had to read out of their body language and expression to know what they were actually thinking. It was somewhat nice to know them that well, though; few words were needed when they did not want to talk.

"You are the powergamer and I'm the roleplayer, there is no problem with that. We can carry a party of three."

"Now hold on!" Neptune gave them both stern looks while Vert chuckled in the background. The petite girl got up and pointed at Blanc with fake indignation. "My characters are perfectly viable and you know it."

"You played a vampire with a fear of blood," Blanc provided.  
"With enough endurance that he never had to feed!"

"Or that blind archer," Noire added with a tiny smile while idly playing with one of her twintails.

"I skilled her on finding enemies on sound!"

"Or..."

**::**

Their banter was observed from the counter, a gentle gaze resting on the four women from behind an old pair of glasses. The owner of this restaurant counted himself lucky to serve the whole pantheon yet again. This was the second time.

Most of the younger ones would not know to tell them apart from regular customers, even though the spotless skin and overall beauty were a good sign for it.

What tipped him off was a very simple fact, though. The young purplette had been among his customers for the last fourty years, almost ever since he started his business here. She only showed up once or twice a year, but one took notice of such things.

Seeing them talk and joke with each other, he could be content. Even though they were deities, all four of them, they ruled well. One could feel as if nothing was wrong with the world.


	2. A Small Beginning 1

_One rarely fails to notice how... eccentric our heroes are. It is quite sad that their quirkiness is oftentimes born from tragedy._

-Jinguji Kei

* * *

Despite all the fallen leaves, or the cold wind rustling both them and their kin still attached to the trees, it was a day of cheer. Not a single cloud covered the sky, courtesy of the CPU's might.

Deep green eyes followed a stray rabbit fleeing from his little family. Their owner, Jack Fontaine, was content about his life on this autumn afternoon. He did honest work at the Guild, found a wonderful wife, and today they were celebrating the birthday of Planeptune's second goddess yet again.

"Papa, look!" And, of course, they now had their little sweetheart.

Four years old and soon turning five, Isabelle jumped around the fallen leaves and laughed while kicking away at them. Several strands of hazel hair spilled from her wool hat, the colour quite obviously inherited from his wife Nina. In Jack's opinion, it fit the little daredevil much better than his own dark pink.

"I'm looking, sweetie!"

"Yay!"

Jack let out a pleased sigh and squeezed the hand that wormed its way into his grasp; there was no better way to spend a national holiday than with the two most important women in his life.

Plus, he added after a moment, Virtua Forest was always a sight to behold; in difference to the neatly trimmed parks inside the capital, this extension of Planeptune's network was wild and untamed. Both Fontaines had been stationed here often enough to appreciate its more natural flair.

And, going by how enthusiastically their daughter was running around, so did Isabelle.

"It's a nice thought, isn't it? Isa was born the same year as Lady Purple Sister, maybe this means something?" His wife wore a thoughtful look even while her eyes followed the playing girl. Jack just rolled his eyes over the thought; Nina was a little more devout than him, though that may be because she was born in Lowee and converted only recently.

He could not help but tease her a little about it. "I'm sure the Lady will let us know if our baby is a chosen one."

"Oh, you." Nina playfully batted his shoulder, but he could see the mirth in her smile.

"Oh, oh! Tell me, tell me!" They both looked down at their child, Isabelle giving them a wide-eyed stare with her arms raised at them; Jack picked her up and let her ride on his shoulders, much to her joy. Nina just giggled at the sight and held her daughter's hand. "Tell you what, Isa?"

"The Lady!" So she heard them talking and decided to investigate. Jack was happy with how outgoing his daughter was, all things considered; she always had questions about everything. It could be exasperating, but he indulged her anyway. "You saw her on TV before, right? Lady Purple Heart."

"Uh... maybe?"

He chuckled and got walking again, holding onto his daughter's legs with care. "Heh, doubt you would mistake her for someone else. The Lady made Planeptune so that everyone can be happy here."

Isabelle listened in awe, much to his delight. Jack had little time to spend with his daughter, but he made as much of it as he could in-between work. It was more necessary than ever before since Nina returned to service just last year.

"Ohh! And the... the gu... gi... uh..."

"The Guild?"

"Yes, that! Is that fun?"

Both adults snickered over the innocent question. Fun was a word to describe all the people one could meet, or the banter after a shift was over. Aside from that, boring, dangerous, and rewarding were the runner-ups for how they would describe it. But then again, it was something special for them either way. "It is. That's how Mama and Papa met after all."

They continued on their way, greeting the patrols they passed and enjoying the afternoon. Isabelle waved happily whenever they met anyone, even after Jack let her down to run around again.

Some time later however, he had to realise that this day would not end as he expected. For before them, a large figure had appeared and blocked the way. Several metres tall, its armoured head peeked at them from within a heavy and colourful shell; its stubbly green legs were grinding against the ground as the behemoth slowly marched forward.

A Turtle.

All three of them stopped at the Monster's sight, Isabelle quickly running back to her mother; Jack felt cold seeping into him from seeing what they just found. It was not just a Turtle, but a pack of purplish blue Wolves as well.

Nina's breathing grew shallow and she took a step back, as did he. While the Monsters were still creeping up on them, he drew his cellphone and pressed the emergency call button, their Guild-trackers having been left at home. Nina was already brimming with magic, making the creatures even more cautious.

He knew they had no chance against that many. A lone Turtle they could outrun, a small pack of Wolves they could hold back. But this was a larger pack, backed by something they could hardly hurt, if at all.

All these thoughts raced through Jack's mind in an instant, cutting off the moment his call was answered by an unfamiliar voice: "Fontaine?"

"Virtua Forest, southeast. A Turtle and at least one pack of Wolves." He did not bother explaining any more to the operator. There was silence for a moment while Jack continued to think; his heart was beating fast, far faster than it ever did before.

"Alright, we're on it. Hold out." Then the line went dead and he lowered his phone, giving the wife a curt nod. However, their threatening poses did little to stop the Wolves. They were waiting... and their eyes were not on either of them, he realised.

"Mama? Papa? What's going on?" Isabelle's voice shook and she weakly held on to their coats. Neither of the adults turned their head away from the Monsters, though; they would attack in that very moment. But Jack knew it would take at least a few minutes for any kind of help to arrive; patrols in the forest were reduced for the holiday. Those were minutes he did not have.

"Nina, go." His wife almost turned to look at him, but thought better of it and just answered with a curt "No". Jack cursed mentally, knowing that now was not the time for this; he was better in melee than his wife and that many enemies would not let her get any distance.

She knew that, too.

"Not the time. Take Isabelle and go. I'll hold them here."

"Papa?"

He knew what he was doing and what it meant. The Wolves were inching toward them and fanned out while the Turtle continued to stomp forward; they made some steps back once in a while, but it was getting closer.

Jack blinked a few times in quick succession and grimaced at the fact his wife was still next to him... but the heat in the air dissipated a little bit.

A beat, then everything happened at once; Nina took up their daughter and turned tail, the Wolves jumped and he drew his dagger.

A quick shot from Jack's sidearm punched a hole through the first Wolf's hindleg, laming it while the rest jumped. His daughter's shouting grew weaker already as he rolled below the next two jumping at him... but half of the pack ignored Jack and charged after his family.

He shot a small hole into one more and managed to sink the dagger into a third's eye, making the creature yowl and explode into fragments.

Jack managed a back and forth for an amount of time he could not measure between his erratic hearbeats. Somehow he could keep the Wolves at bay and stay away from the Turtle, but eventually his bullets were used up and he lost his dagger on the way. A weight settled onto his back and sharp teeth lodged themselves into his shoulder. Shouting in pain, the man threw himself forward and tried to push the creature off... only for another to bite down and halfway through his leg.

He could barely feel anything there within moments, becoming partly aware of something wet leaking out while the pain clouded his vision. It became more difficult to think straight through the haze. Another one tackled him to the ground while the first two ripped around his shoulder and leg, slowly numbing the agony that coursed through him, the closing Turtle still in his vision. It seemed oddly smug...

And then there was light.

A streak of dark purple struck through the approaching creature, cutting it clean in two while six fiery lances pierced through the Wolves. Flashes of white as everything exploded and a figure knelt down beside him, the warmth of her flames reminding him of how cold he felt.

But this was not about him... there were still more, he realised. After Nina and Isabelle!

Jack slowly raised his head until he could see what his body already knew; a regal face scrunched up in sorrow, pristine skin and a purplish black armour encompassing her; a CPU. His Lady.

"Please..." His voice broke, but he managed to point in the right direction before the goddess could stop him. "Please... my wife... daughter..."

Purple Heart's eyes snapped to where he pointed, even though his words were little more than a whisper; then she turned them back to him calmly. "Very well."

The goddess understood what he wanted; he was glad that she did. Despite the cold paralyzing his mind, Jack was sure of this: if it had to be anyone, he rather it be him and not them. His vision blacked out again, even the light no longer able to stop him from getting tired.

But as blackness surrounded him, Jack's thoughts were with his wife and daughter. A gust of air was the only indicator that Purple Heart was gone.

_I beg of you, my Lady... please make it so that they survive..._

**::**

Godspeed was a word many used in jest. But when a deity wanted to go somewhere fast, few mortals were able to even percieve them moving.

The fact she was given inaccurate directions complicated the matter, though.

Purple Heart rushed through the forest, rolling around trees and only barely hovering above ground. Her eyes snapped around and all her being was focussed on filtering the air; even the slightest noise could- _there!_

Turning a few degrees, the CPU rushed faster and toward the screams she heard.

Other thoughts were on hold as she broke through the underbrush and took stock in an instant; smoke and small fires all around a small clearing, the ground covered in ice. Two Wolves present, ready to jump.

Before the Monsters stood a slumped and bleeding woman, blocking the way to the crying child behind her. The destruction was centered around her.

Purple Heart moved when the Wolves jumped and hit them before they reached their target, crushing both with her bare hands. Skin, flesh, muscles, and bone gave way at once and the creatures exploded into particles of light before they even knew what hit them.

Then she rushed further and caught the woman carefully, lowering her to the ground. Several deep gashes were distributed all over her body where the Wolves struck and she had lost a lot of blood already. Tuning out the girl's cries, Purple Heart grasped for what little healing magic she had and got to work.

Green light traveled from her hands into the weak body below her, the small echoes telling her how bad the injuries actually were. Or rather, how much blood was already out of the system.

The additional shock of Purple Heart's presence had made her patient faint, open wounds quickly soaking both human and goddess red. They closed under the mere amount of magic, but not fast enough. Healing magic could not replace lost blood.

Purple Heart could feel this life fading, the familiar throbbing in her chest following the realisation at once. She was a CPU, a goddess... and yet unable to fulfill her purpose, to save this life.

Not that she stopped trying, pouring as much of her power into the body under her hands as she could without hurting it. Alas, the erratic heartbeat slowly grew weaker.

And a small figure leaned against Purple Heart's shoulder.

One eye snapped over to the scared child, taking in flushed skin around her widened eyes and disheveled clothes. A few cuts and bruises, but otherwise fine. More tears rolled down the girl's cheeks as she looked down at her mother; Purple Heart only felt worse for it.

This was not the first time she had been in this situation. It never stopped hurting.

Then the woman's heartbeat ceased and she stopped breathing, the soothing green rolling off of her still form now. Purple Heart knew she could use electricity to try reviving her, but help would not arrive in time. Not like this. So she let her go, to rest with her husband.

The magic faded out as she stopped pushing it, falling still and pressing her hands against the ground. She could feel the small frame clutching her side, a source of warmth against the chill that crept down her spine.

"W-Will mama... be okay?" The words came weak, interrupted by a hiccup and a sniffle. Looking closer now, she could see how the girl's clothes were torn in some places. Snot ran from her nose and she watched the CPU pleadingly.

Reassurance was what she wanted, but what should the goddess say? What could she say? Purple Heart did not lie unless she absolutely had to, but this... how could she tell the truth to a child?

They stared at each other for a while, the time lost to the upset girl and the mournful deity alike. Then Purple Heart caught the sound of a hovercraft in the distance.

_I have to get it back together._

She cleared her mind and decided, then raised her hand skywards. With a jet of purple light streaking upward, the CPU signalled her people where to find her.

With that done, she reached out and swept the girl into a gentle hug. The iron stench of blood hung heavy in the air and clung to both of them, but this was all she could do. "How much I would love to tell you she will be alright... but that would be a lie. I am so sorry I could not make it in time."

The child in her arms stiffened for a moment, then a new bout of tears flooded her processor. Purple Heart quickly replaced the armour with a soft robe to make it less uncomfortable, then she held her charge close and let her cry.

There were far too many children like her; she was their deity, yet she did not even know their names. Purple Heart suppressed a sigh and held the girl tight, allowing her to grieve while the sound of jet-engines grew closer. There was movement in the forest, agents swarming out to secure the perimeter. They moved with high speed just as usual.

"I...I want Mama... and Papa..."

The goddess gently cradled her charge and kept quiet; she did not feel capable of speaking properly right now. There were no words to describe what she felt.

Despite their speed, none of them made it in time.

**. .**

**. .**

She watched the people gathered with mixed feelings. Many had come, though none were family. It was good to see the solidarity to their fellow human beings and -in many cases- coworkers. Purple Heart saw Guild agents, operators and even a few people that had just been nearby and joined to express their condolences. Especially the latter stuck out a little between the black and grey, being clad in casual wear instead but welcome nonetheless.

Both parents had died of blood loss, leaving behind their four-year-old daughter and a few other things the CPU had conserved for the time being.

Right now however, her thoughts were with young Isabelle. The child sat amidst other people, staring blankly ahead; she got out of the whole ordeal a week ago, mostly unscathed physically. Mentally, however, she was traumatised. Others might not see it as clearly, but Purple Heart... no, Neptune knew.

She had not arrived in HDD, but in her civilian form and garbed in her usual purple robe, face hidden by a grey veil. Nonetheless, everyone recognised her in an instant wherever she treaded. This was the least she could do after she failed in her task. To be here and speak, even when the deep voice of her larger form was difficult to imitate with this petite body.

It did not matter much, though. She had seen it a thousand times and more, the pain of a child losing the people they loved most. Just like she saw loving parents lose their babies. It never hurt any less, but she knew the ones who hurt the most were them.

Sadly, she did not have the time, or she would have taken care of all the children herself. Playing favourites was even worse. All she could do now was hope for others to work things out in her stead.

**::**

While people were talking quietly all around her, Isabelle did not really care. She did not get it, either. Mama and papa went away and would not come back... but why? It was not fair, not fair at all.

She felt like crying some more, but the hollow throbbing in her head was all she had now. There were no more tears and her throat hurt from screaming so much.

Above all else however... she felt so empty. As if something was gone and left a big hole deep within her.

**. .**

**. .**

Marianne was not sure how to feel about her situation.

She was in her mid-twenties and had started working at Sunflower Orphanage just a few months ago. For now her superiors only had her supervise a few children at a time, to let her get used to the workings. She was greatful for that; even after studying for this and taking a great many courses, those rascals were a handful.

And then came Isabelle. Almost five years old, the girl was docile and kept to herself most of the time; instead of being interest in the TV or computer, she instead tried her best reading books and played outside in her remaining time.

At first Marianne was glad about the easier assignment in-between everything else, but these feelings vanished when a coworker told her _why_ this girl acted the way she did. Isabelle did not smile, did not speak except if necessary. This was unhealthy in many ways, though she at least talked properly to her therapist.

Once she knew this much, she looked up the matter by herself; the state kept hold on the Fontaine's possessions and financial means until their child was old enough to inherit them. There was no close family for her to stay with either, as both of her parents were only children. With her father's parents having passed on duty for the Guild as well, and her mother's parents in Lowee refusing to take her, she was now here.

By herself, Marianne doubted that the quiet little thing she tended to could thrive in Lowee's cold, which probably would have become a problem even if the grandparents had decided to take her in.

With all this on her mind, the pinkette did her best in trying to help Isabelle get back into a healthy mindset. She ate plenty and seemed at least content, but never really got along with any of the older children; for whatever reason, no matter whom she asked, everyone said they found Isabelle creepy.

Meanwhile, all of the younger children around loved Isabelle; she spent time playing with them whenever she had some, showing a more honest smile and actual joy. It vanished soon enough each time, but Marianne could hope from seeing that.

In the end, what appeared as an easy task turned out to be the most taxing of all; not because she had to give Isabelle special care, but because she wanted to. Many of these children were suffering from traumatic events in one way or another, but only very few to that extent. She wanted to see Isabelle become whole again.

Much to Marianne's surprise however, the girl soon ambushed her in the hallway with a determined expression; pudgy cheeks were pushed out and the tight line her eyebrows formed would have been intimidating on an adult... as it was, she only looked adorable. Marianne did not let the sight distract her, though; if Isabelle looked at her like that, she knew, this was important.

"I want to train." Which was not among the things Marianne _expected_ to hear in this moment. She blinked owlishly at the girl in front of her, readjusted her glasses, and nodded understandingly even though she did not get it. "I see; why do you want to train... and what?"

She went down on one knee to be on eye-level with her charge, whose green eyes stayed on her in a hopeful stare. Isabelle hesitated for but a moment before blurting it out: "I wanna be a Maker, so I got to be strong!"

This declaration was met with another bout of surprise, though the adult did not let it show. She just pushed a few pink strands out of her face to gain time and tried to figure out what to say. Marianne _knew_ that becoming a Maker was but a fleeting dream many children had. To be one of the nation's great heroes.

But what was she supposed to respond with when confronted with that very dream, and in this manner no less?

In the end, Marianne decided to try an approach she read about and that one of the older men had said worked well enough: "So you want to exercise, hmm... give me a week or two and I can see about that."

"Really?!" Isabelle appeared genuinely surprised to get her way, to which Marianne just booped her nose with a smile. "Of course, dear. You have to work hard to become a Maker, though"

"That's okay, Mari! I'll do my best!" Following that declaraton, Isabelle hugged her tightly. The adult smiled by herself, knowing that it was but an empty phrase no matter how genuine. Isabelle would cave under the exertion within two weeks and let it go instead of insisting if she told her no from the get-go.

Years later, she would think back to this very thought and laugh at herself for being so dumb. She would also praise herself for going along with it.

After making a proper appointment with a fitness trainer and getting the girl set up, she sat in on the practice sessions. Watching, encouraging... and waiting for Isabelle to give up.

Two weeks passed, yet she kept going.

Four weeks passed and her vigour had yet to decrease.

Six months passed and Marianne began to feel awe.

This awe would grow ever further for a long while.

**::**

While she was not busy working out or attending school however, Isabelle herself had yet one more thing to practice. She was scared that someone might force her to become a mage if she went to the test for magical aptitude; that was why she never went, even though magic coursed through her every fibre. She could feel it, just like her mother used to describe the sensation.

In these days, to Isabelle, becoming a mage meant being unable to be a Maker. It was a misconception, yet one that took years to be cleared up. She found a nice spot in a nearby park, secluded from the normal routes and covered in stones; that was her practice area, where fire could be spouted without having to risk it catching the trees. Light remained unseen through the thick foliage in summer and her healing magic was used solely on herself, tending to self-inflicted burns from using too much magic at once or losing control.

Isabelle did not mind the pain or the effort of keeping things a secret despite her busy schedule. She was determined to fulfill her dream by any means necessary.


	3. A Small Beginning 2

_Heck yes, the Guild's one of the best things we have. Simple, efficient... probably a small bureaucratic nightmare, all things considered. Everyone of age can join and earn themselves some pocket money from bashing Dogoos. Plus, it frees up the CPUs to do more important stuff. Everybody wins!_

-Unnamed Guild Agent

* * *

The room was quiet except for the scratching of pens on paper. Two supervisors made their rounds among the dozen participants of this examination, their steps level from years of practice.

At their next passing each other, the men exchanged knowing looks at the frantic work happening around them; it was the infamous last five minutes and, like any student could attest, these were the most stressful minutes of any exam.

Only one did not seem bothered, a rather young girl whose eyes were carefully flying over the sheet in front of her; curly brown hair fell down to her shoulders, effectively hiding the green orbs from view. When one of the supervisors passed her again, he took note of the fact she was gently tapping her pen on her finger.

It seemed this one was just better at masking her anxiety, the man reasoned, knowing that there were some of those once in a while. He went on with that thought, leaving the girl to herself. Unbeknownst to him, this particular applicant had no need to hurry; she was busy double-checking everything.

_-Last Name: Fontaine_

_-First Name: Isabelle_

_-Date of Birth: 26th of October, 494_

_-Age: 14_

_-Reason of Application: To gain first-hand experience in Guild matters, assist the CPU by fighting Monsters and obtain combat experience._

With the essentials taken care of, her eyes darted over all the questions and problems again; some were easy -_Two people are fleeing in opposite directions, one followed by a Wolf and the other by a Fenrir. Which do you save and why?_\- while others were more difficult -_describe Planeptune in twenty words or less_\- but she was rather happy with her solutions.

When the clock started ringing, one supervisor immediately called out. "Time's up, everyone. Pens down, we will now collect your answers."

Isabelle put down her sheets with a satisfied sigh and then stretched sore fingers a little. The girl leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath; two hours were quite some time to spend on this and her forehead felt hot from thinking so much.

It was harder than she thought it would be. But probably not as hard on her as it could have been, if her fellow applicants' groaning was any indication.

She was glad that the Guild took applications for a special license twice a year, in June and December respectively. If they did not and only offered it annually, she would have had to wait even longer to apply. Fourteen was the minimum age to apply for joining the Guild early and she was determined to make it, despite of how brutal the examination was supposed to be. So far, it had lived up to Isabelle's expectations.

On the other hand, to her, the hard part was over now. Next up was the physical half of this whole process. This thought made the girl relax some more as she got up, striding after one of the instructors and toward the gymnasium. Her large blue coat gently swished around her lithe form.

They were told not to bring gym clothes and to just appear in whatever they would wear in the field. Naturally, she brought her much preferred clothes; black shorts and a tight shirt for the best possible movability, as well as her trusted coat to conceal the rather short clothes. After wearing blue with white linings for so long, it felt unnatural not to wear it anyway... and privately, she liked the far oversized clasps a lot. It contrasted nicely with her hair and the green ribbon she worked into it.

They were given some water while a dozen other instructors entered the room, each of them with a clipboard and sharp eyes. Names were called and the applicants went to whoever they were assigned to, then the physical examination began in earnest.

They had her sprint, jump, pull weights, run an obstacle course and quite a bit more than that. There were no limitations, though; each time, Isabelle was asked to do how much she saw fit... so she did, which seemed to surprise her instructor a little. Each time. Yet there was no time to ponder the reasons, she had work to do.

When Isabelle was done an hour later, refused the optional magical examination, and went through a medical checkup, she was finally told it was over and that the Guild would inform her of her results within a few weeks. Isabelle was happy with that; she gave this her all and was pretty tired, as well as soaked in sweat.

Nonetheless, the teen felt she could still do a light jog; three kilometres, then a long shower and dinner. She liked the sound of that; with it being the weekend, she had time.

**::**

Meanwhile, the staff several storeys above the gymnasium were in a state that could be best described as 'freaking out'.

"Seriously, what?"

"What are the odds?"  
"How can such a little girl-"

Everyone was talking over each other while the screens all depicted the same... or nearly similar results. Going through the first five applicants had been easy, none of them did more than average and would not expect to pass anyway. This one however, especially with the results on her fitness coming in as they worked, was different.

At first most of the five office workers thought their colleague was messing with them, but then they checked the answers themselves. A great many of the questions asked were to determine character. They were purposefully worded vaguely to allow subjective grading, too.

All to ensure that no one could pass this test, except for individuals that were already forwarded by the Basilicom; in most cases by Lady Purple Heart herself.

There was no such order in this case. While some of them would not mind just doing the usual, these results were outstanding enough to ask for an outside opinion. Who but the CPU could make such a decision, they reasoned.

So when the door finally slid open to reveal their ruler, the men and women quickly nodded at her and motioned for the large front screen. One man took to manipulating the footage shown, the rest went back to grading the remainder of this batch. Yet all of them glanced back up at the beauty standing amidst them once in a while. They all felt the force of her presence even without seeing her.

Purple Heart herself was watching some of the exercises with interest before casually flipping through the girl's written exam. Her expression never really changed from the casual friendliness, full lips slightly tugged upward and all the other muscles in her face relaxed so as to not give anything away.

"What should we do about this, my Lady?" The man initially responsible for grading this sheet stood at a loss; he knew his job and that no one was supposed to pass, which was why there was no passing grade on it anyway. They never publicised the test or its results, so no one could argue about it.

A few contemplative seconds after he asked his question, Purple Heart's lips parted slightly; their corners rose a little higher, then the goddess offered a weak nod and put down the sheet. "Please forward all data about this applicant to Histoire. We will take a... special approach."

**::**

Isabelle was halfway past the neatly arranged beds of Loweean flowers to her left when she turned back to the large building. It was an amazing sight, even amongst the large skyscrapers of downtown Nicos. Even with Planeptower casting its shadow over it, the local Guild HQ stood tall and vast. More than fifty metres in height was small in planeptunian terms, but this building was several hundred metres wide to compensate.

It shone brightly in the evening sun, polished metal interrupted only by accents of purple and silver plasteel. The fact they arranged flowers and streets around it to make it stand alone helped set the building apart from every other; it was big enough to warrant a large parking lot, two connections to the underground network, and three connections to the walkways.

The walkways were, in fact, her chosen means of transportation from here. Jogging up a set of stairs that seemed to end in mid-air, Isabelle carelessly hopped onto the barely visible stream of solid air. Running on these lanes was frowned upon unless one had enough space to stay out of everyone else's path; with the traffic picking up however, that was not possible.

A cold wind ruffled Isabelle's hair and coat, making her shiver. Most of the sweat dried by now, but it was still not a nice feeling to be outside at barely positive temperatures. December indeed... but there was her stop, right next to her favourite park. She stepped off and took the stairs, then quickly fell into a slow jog.

Anxious she may be, but this would not stop her from anything.

**. .**

**. .**

It was only a week after the examination and tension had already taken a hold of Isabelle, the girl waiting for what kind of response she would get. Mari kept throwing her reassuring looks, but that did not really help; this special license was important to her.

Yet she did not expect the news to appear at breakfast; her heart skipped a beat when one of the other staffmembers called out to her: "Hey IF, you've got a letter!"

They always did this, handing out mail during mealtimes. All of the younger children were around at that time and none of the older ones were allowed out beyond curfew.

She was also pretty glad about the nickname sticking by now; even if it alienated quite a few of the older children, she liked this more than her actual name. It sounded weird.

IF felt a litte short on air while the man strolled between the tables and toward her; maybe she tied her choker too tight today, the girl reasoned; it stuck to her throat a little bit more than was usual. She quickly clasped it open and tied it again.

Sadly, this did not help with her sudden bout of anxiety; it only provided a distraction until the letter was given to her, with the Guild's official stamp on it. Almost everyone knew where she went the previous Saturday, so it was no surprise that her direct neighbours tried to take a peek over her shoulders. Tough luck, both girls were years younger than her and thus smaller. She may or may not have slumped over a little to allow them to look, though. Keeping such things a secret was useless anyway; they would know whether she passed within days.

When IF turned her gaze onto the neatly written lines however, her nervousness was gone rather soon. There was no mention of how her exam went, no. It was a summons to the Guild HQ on this very afternoon, signed by Histoire herself.

There was no reason given, just the summons and a reminder to contact the office in case she was busy at that time. IF read the letter again, but there was nothing there to sate her curiousity.

"Weird, is that how the Guild does it?" The girl to IF's left shoulder asked.

The one to her right shrugged at her. "No idea... do you know, IF?"

The brunette took some relief out of the fact she was not the only one confused; then she returned a shrug of her own and frowned at the nondescript message. "I was supposed to get a letter with my results, not... whatever this is."

Some others were listening as well, even though she could tell they tried to be discreet about it. IF just rolled her eyes and folded the paper before pushing it into her bag. Their interest would wane over the next few days anyway, it was always like that.

**::**

School went by almost in a blur; classes on Friday were usually interesting, but IF had a hard time concentrating today. The letter returned to the forefront of her mind more often than not and she wondered just what the Guild might want if they asked for her to come over again.

The idea most prominent was that they wanted to talk about her employment, but her mind beat it down each time it came up. Yet IF always returned there no matter how many other ideas she found, hope growing where her concious mind tried to salt the earth against it. Through it all however, she wondered why they would not add a note about her passing the exam in their message if she was right.

When IF left her new school that day, she still had no idea what to make of this. With clubs not being mandatory in high school, she could get going before most others; some clubs sounded interesting, like the weapon maintenance club, but IF probably knew enough about the topic already. She prepared herself a lot over the years.

After a quick stop at home, where she stored away her notebooks and other school supplies before clipping a trusted pair of katars to her waist, IF headed out toward her destination. She decided to get lunch later, after visiting the Guild. As it was, she might have been too nervous to eat anyway.

It felt a little weird to stroll toward the Guild so soon, though. IF just did her best to shrug it off and went on, happy about the sunshine; there was at least some warmth for her to enjoy despite the wind.

Upon reaching the Guild and talking to the receptionist however, things started to get weird; while other people were asked to wait in the entrance area, the young man immediately told IF to be on her way after giving her a storey and room number. No one stopped her when she entered the spacy elevator, either.

That was probably not what happened normally, the girl reasoned. She rose almost to the building's top before leaving her ride, carefully tapping over a sturdy blue carpet as she went. Some others, all of them adults, walked by her with passing glances and nods. Men and women, all clad in simple suits or casual clothes. No one seemed bothered about her being here despite the fact that her coat stood out quite a bit, not to mention that IF was obviously still a teen.

Once she found the room she was told and knocked carefully, IF turned to actually read the plaque attached next to the doorframe. What she saw gave her pause: black letters formed merely one word, standing out against the white background.

Histoire.

IF blinked slowly, but the door was gently swept open by an unseen force before she could understand the implications of what she just saw. Turning her head, the brunette found a friendly gaze directed at her, belonging to a woman no taller than her arm was long. "You are right on time, Ms. Fontaine. Please, come on in."

IF moved without thinking much about it, still awed by seeing the faintly glistening wings from up close. They were a gentle silver colour, much in difference to the blue and purple robe her... host was wearing. "O-Of course, Lady Oracle." It came a little delayed and both of them knew.

Histoire never once faltered in her gentle smile, the remainder of her face deceptively soft and nondescript. She maneuvered the blue book she was sitting on closer to a desk in the room's back while beckoning IF to sit opposite to her. "Please, not so formal. This is neither an official, nor a public occasion. Although it might count as the former, if you squint."

IF was at a loss, but already in the process of regaining her bearings. She nodded slowly at the blonde sitting opposite to her; Planeptune's Oracle, direct assistant of the CPU and thereby head of the Guild alongside her counterparts from Lowee, Leanbox and Lastation.

But also the chronicler of Gamindustri. Any child knew that within Histoire, the history of tens of thousands of years was stored and maintained. Ever since she was created by the old goddess, the progenitor, the Tome had existed in this world.

She had come to maybe be allowed to join the Guild early; the last thing IF expected was to be talking about it with Histoire herself. The girl still shook off her stupor, knowing that now was not the time to stare like a kid.

"Of course, Lady Histoire. I'm just... a little surprised." Her voice was still a little weak, but IF could deal with that. Somewhat more difficult was fighting down her rising blush, courtesy of the tiny woman's soft chuckle; this was definitely not her greatest moment, embarassing herself like this, and in front of the Tome no less.

"Oh, I can imagine. I rarely find the time to take a stroll, so most children would not expect to meet me. Please be at ease." Her voice was kind and compelling, making the girl relax a bit while she shuffled around on the chair and tried to occupy her hands with something; IF ultimately folded them in her lap and quelled their activity by focussing on the conversation. "Yes, something like that. I-It's an honour, Lady Histoire."

Of course she had hoped to meet the Tome one day. Everyone did, just like everyone was hoping for a chance to meet a CPU at least once. Dreaming of it and experiencing it were not the same things though, as IF learned in these minutes. The fairy gave her a friendly nod before levitating a set of papers around on her desk. "I am afraid I do not have much time to chat today, so we should get started. Though... why do you think you got summoned here, this sudden no less?"

IF blinked a few times and turned her gaze lower while thinking for a moment. She could at least guess how this all worked. This was not normal, she was sure of it, but figured that being too specific might be bad. "I think something unusual happened during my examination last week," was what she offered in the end. It was difficult to hold the edge of apprehension out of her voice, if her attempts fooled the Oracle at all. The Tome's pokerface was remarkable.

However, all Histoire did was nodding twice and leaning forward to skim the topmost sheet in front of her again. "That is indeed the case. I assume you gave it your all last Saturday?"

"Of course I did!" IF blurted out without thought; she wondered with upcoming disappointment why anyone would think she did not, her shoulders slumping. Then the girl realised she just snapped at the head of Planeptune's Guild and her eyes widened. "Sorry... it's just... I trained really hard for this."

And for the first time since she entered the room, IF saw Histoire's smile break; the fairy grimaced and shook her head before levitating more papers around. "There is no need to apologise, Ms. Fontaine. I should have worded my question better, terribly sorry." Then she offered one of the sheets to IF with a weak smirk. "I was mostly asking to make sure there were no more... impressive secrets hidden within such a young girl."

IF flinched and sat a little more straight than she already did, her thoughts going to the magic she was hiding, but played it off somehow and took the offered paper into her hands; it rustled gently while she went over the... evaluation.

_Isabelle Fontaine:_

_-Character: A_

_-Knowledge: A+_

_-Wisdom: A-_

_-Intelligence: A_

_-Strength: S_

_-Agility: S+_

_-Endurance: S_

_-Technique: A+_

_-Physical Condition: S++_

_-Magic: /_

"Do note that these ranks are in comparison to your age group, not the population overall. C would denote an average person of sixteen years." Histoire need not have bothered, IF knew the grading system; it was uniform to most of Gamindustri anyway. What confused her much more were all those outstanding grades... and the fact she never heard about anything above S existing in the first place.

IF stared down at what she saw, the filled out bars remaining as they were. When she looked up, Histoire had a hand in front of her face to hide the wide smile she knew was there. "Rest assured that you did not mess up, Ms. Fontaine. Quite the opposite, in fact; as you should be aware, there should be no grade above S. You broke the scales in more than one regard."

"Huh... what does that mean, then?" IF was really not sure what to make of this. If she did exceptionally well, why exactly was she here?

The Tome just nodded again before lowering her hand and folding it together with the other. "I hope you will keep what I tell you now a secret, as it is not meant for children to know. These examinations held by the Guild are not supposed to be passed, except by applicants already scouted and approved by either Purple Heart, or me."

Something within her froze and IF sat in silence over the revelation. It was... hurtful to hear this; she was not scouted, so all the effort would be in vain anyway. Despite the outstanding grades she could still see in front of her, they would not even give her a chance. In an instant, everything had broken down.

"But... why?" She had trouble keeping the pain out of her voice; after all the time IF invested to get a head start in her career, she felt it justified to be upset... but not to cry. Not right here, at least. Children cried to get what they wanted and she refused to be a child.

"..." Sadly, something must have tipped off the Tome; maybe her lip quivered for a moment or something like that. Whatever it was, it made Histoire's smile become more gentle. "We have long since known that children, especially teenagers, believe themselves to be grown up and ready for the harsher parts of reality... while the opposite applies. Most of your peers are not at all prepared for actual work in this institution, Ms. Fontaine."

A quiet sigh escaped the Tome as she lowered her gaze. "Every generation loses a few children that think they are ready and set out on their own... but with this, we can at least keep some of them from doing so. The arbitrary difficulty of this examination serves to discourage them from getting in over their heads."

It made sense, even. No matter how much she did not want it to make sense, it did. IF knew her own feelings on the matter well enough to tell that she was no different from what Histoire just explained. In the end, she would have to wait another four years and join the regular way, just like everyone else.

"I see... are there really that many?" Resignation was setting in by now, but IF rather not show it to Histoire; instead, she decided to at least find out as much as she could for now. The Tome, however, chuckled. "As I said, only a handful... not that the CPUs are happy about even just that many, and neither am I. Even if this procedure allows to just save one in a generation, we would still keep it."

The human girl nodded in agreement, beginning with the arduous task of filing away her disappointment. It was for a good cause and she simply ran into it. Maybe it even saved her own life, IF reasoned. She might not be able to join the Guild today, but at least she would leave a good impression with the Oracle for being understanding.

After Histoire let the conversation lie for a few long moments, she offered a nod to IF before shifting a little on her book. "Granted, while you did not pass due to the nature of this exam, we believe it prudent to make an exception in your case, Ms. Fontaine."

IF paused at that, her thoughts halting and turning back around; hope bubbled deep down, but she might have easily misunderstood. Although, with how wide Histoire smiled now, this might actually be what she thought it was; they would allow her to join early despite everything. Deep within IF, the emotional rollercoaster continued to spin back; sad acceptance was thrown out to be replaced with overwhelming joy.

Her eyes continued to widen together with her lips as the Tome shifted another sheet of paper to her. "Your results are unprecedented. Nonetheless, the Guild does not allow anyone below sixteen years of age to obtain a special license on principle, not even acknowledged talents. If you would be willing to participate in another examination in two years time, we will grant you a special license and enlist you as one of our agents."

Somehow, the words made her feel at ease. IF relaxed and took a deep breath while going over the sheet with shining eyes; it was a contract of employment, holding everything that Histoire just said and so much more.

"I don't mind that." And why would she? It was everything she wanted, even though IF would have to wait another two years. On the other hand, this meant she had another two years to exercise, train and study to make sure she would not end up disappointing them.

The Oracle quickly led her through signing the document, then signed it herself and quickly copied it for IF to read in detail, if she so desired. IF on her part thought about framing it and putting it somewhere in her room.

"That concludes the matter I wanted to talk to you about. Though I ought to mention that you will have to partake in a mandatory training regimen about survival outside of a city, like all of our new agents do. It will be held in May, during your summer break, so you may attend either next year at fourteen, or the year after at fifteen."

She already heard about that one, so IF just nodded and gently folded the copied contract before putting it into one of her pockets. "I guess I'll wait until I'm fifteen, then; that way I will have all the things I learn still in mind when I start."

"Likely so," Histoire allowed with twinkling eyes. "On another note, I believe you should keep in mind to open a bank account. We can not pay you otherwise." This one gave her pause for a moment; money was something she never really concerned herself with. IF did see the mention of pay and that the exact amount would be decided at a later date, but she paid little attention to it over everything else. It was good that the Tome actually reminded her of doing this. "Thank you, I will take care of it in time."

"Certainly... now, I believe this would be all, unless you have any questions left?" Of course there were many question she could ask Histoire; no being in the entire world knew more than the Tome.

However, she already took up her time and was not exactly feeling well in asking for more of it; Oracles were incredibly busy. "Not right now, no."

"Very well." Histoire took to the air and slipped off of the large book she usually sat on, making it hover behind her instead. "It was nice talking to you, Ms. Fontaine. Have a good day." She offered a tiny hand, which IF shook with care before returning the smile.

"Likewise. Thank you for having me, Lady Histoire." With that, IF left the room and gently closed the door behind herself; her face started to hurt from how wide the no longer suppressed smile grew in mere instants. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

IF took a deep breath, then shook her head a few times to clear it again. Only then did she start her journey back down, to the main entrance.

This time, she found it difficult not to start skipping.


	4. A Small Beginning 3

_I do not get why people assume this; why _should_ I hate my colleagues? We are few and after three centuries, I have internalised the fact they are the only ones I have. Yes, we are at war with each other, but this does not change anything. There is no one human I could love as much as any of them._

-Purple Heart

* * *

Monday again; the weekend went by in a flash with all the excitement. Even if it took another two years, IF could not be happier about succeeding; she did what no one else did before.

Not that her good mood or the faint smile she allowed herself stopped people from dodging out of her way or ignoring her when she went past; it did not matter to begin with, though. IF got used to this kind of reaction a long time ago. All the preparations, training, and studying left her with precious little time to relax in the first place, so this was fine for her.

Granted, some of her classmates did try talking to her. She just had so little in common with any of them that conversations did not last for long. Other people her age were weird, with how they always wanted to goof off and laze around instead of actually doing their work. There was no better feeling than knowing she did everything she set out to do for the day.

IF carefully maneuvered around smaller crowds of people and into the first lecture hall for the day; high school was different in that there were no classrooms anymore. The students had to pick their curriculum and then seek out the rooms their respective courses were held in.

A quick look over the rows of seats they arranged in a rising fashion told IF that she was a little early; most were still empty, with some of her peers standing around and chatting instead.

Either way, she knew no one would take a seat in first row anyway; it was as if they were afraid of the teachers or something like that. IF liked sitting there, it helped concentrating on the lecture while the buzzing of people talking was only behind her and not all around.

With her bag set below the seat, IF took out her folder and began to idle around for a bit, balancing a pen on one finger and failing, double-checking her timetable for the day and still basking in the joy of having made it into the Guild. Two more years to prepare and she could finally start to follow her goal in earnest.

Some time passed before another girl caught her attention as she wandered over to the front row. That was not really unusual, but IF could remember the few people who voluntarily took those seats well enough. This one was not one of them.

She only followed the girl's movement from the corner of her eye, though; it would be rude to stare outright. All she could make out ahead of time were a wooly sweater in warm colours and checkered trousers in red and black. IF put down her pen before it could fall again when the other girl stood next to her. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all." IF really did not mind; she rarely cared who sat next to her, considering that class was about following the lecture, not chatting with your neighbour.

She had been sitting slightly slumped over to rest, the slight tiredness creeping back after she shook it off on her morning run. With all her excitement, IF completely forgot some of her homework due Monday, so she had to stay up until midnight to get it done the day before. Which, of course, resulted in her getting only six hours of sleep that night, two hours less than usual.

Shaking off the thought, IF snuck another glance at the girl taking a seat next to her; her hair was somewhere between orange and yellow, reminiscent of peaches. Her eyes were of the same colour and once she actually sat down, IF noticed that she was a little smaller than her unexpected neighbour. Just a few centimetres, but still noticeable.

Going by the faint smile on her round face and the warm gaze however, she seemed to be friendly.

They sat next to each other in silence for a bit; IF did not mind the quiet, it gave her time to think and relax a little more. One day of missing sleep was not exactly good, but not the end of the world, either. She knew she must not let it become a habit, though.

She wanted to be her very best for the Guild.

"You look happy. Did something good happen?"

The brunette blinked and turned to look at her neighbour, who was watching her and waiting for a response. People rarely talked to her by themselves, so that was unusual in itself. Then IF realised she was actually smiling; for however long, her lips were faintly curled upward. "Yes, actually. I'm glad it went through."

The other girl nodded in understanding, ignoring the fact IF said basically nothing; it was not really the time to brag about her achievement, if there would ever be such a time. It did not discourage this girl, though. "That's good to hear; everyone should have good things happening to them."

"That's a good view to have." Her response was somewhat noncommital, but IF had trouble finding anything to respond with; she did not know this person _at all_, so her knowledge of which topic might work in a conversation was zero. Not that her neighbour minded much, she just continued on with a bright smile: "I think so, too. Smiling makes you look a lot better than frowning all the time."

"I'm not frowning much, though." IF only noted it to keep the conversation going.

However, it did make the other girl blink and tilt her head. "You don't?"

This got her attention, though. IF wondered for a moment, if maybe what the girl said before was not meant in general like she thought it did. Only one way to find out: "No, I don't. Do you think I do?"

There was a momentary silence as they looked at each, broken only when her neighbour started to giggle. "Ehehe... how embarassing..." A faint pink showed itself on her cheeks and she averted her gaze for a bit before slowly meeting IF's gaze again. "I, uh, I actually thought about talking to you a few times before, but you always looked so serious and busy that I didn't want to bother you."

She was not sure how to respond to that; her usual expression did not look that intimidating, did it? Trying to think back for a moment, IF was rather sure to have checked it in the mirror a few times. Then she figured she should clarify it anyway. "It's not really like that, actually. I don't mind spending some time talking to people."

After another moment, she realised she forgot something. "Oh, and I'm IF." Her words made the other girl smile again and she stopped fidgeting altogether. "Nice to meet you, I'm Compa."

She said nothing about the nickname at all and seemed overall just happy to be talking with her. What a weird girl, they both thought.

Nonetheless, so much open friendliness was a nice change of pace and IF reluctantly returned the smile before glancing at the clock and sighing. "Class is starting in a minute." Which meant they had no more time to talk.

"Hmm..." Compa eyed the clock as well. Then she brightened and offered an idea of her own: "How about we eat lunch together? We can talk some more then."

This did sound tempting; whether she had company or not was of little concern to IF, but having someone to talk to might be nice for a change. She usually ate by herself and read a book. "Sure, I don't mind."

"Great!" Compa was outright beaming now, her reaction making IF wonder for a second or two. Her new acquaintance appeared to be surprisingly open with her feelings. Not that she minded, for as long as the same was not expected of her. So while the teacher entered the room and everyone else took a seat, they quickly exchanged a few more words on where to meet up later, then class started and IF focussed.

**. .**

**. .**

When she arrived in the main building after her last class let out, Compa was already waiting for her with a few other girls in tow. Introductions were had, but IF did not bother remembering any of their names; she saw the frowns and grimaces directed her way when they thought she was not looking.

So instead of spending time on people she would not get along with anyway, IF focussed her interest on the one nice person in the group. Compa either did not notice or did not mind as some of her other friends went to get food from the cafeteria; IF brought her own, a mixture of vegetables, fruits and meat with a generous helping of noodles. The kitchen staff was nice to her again, she noted. That did not stop her from rolling her eyes at the sight, even if it was good-natured. Everyone at home knew how much she exercised, so the cooks always made her a bit more than was actually necessary. Not that IF complained.

Compa was glancing over at IF's lunchbox, her own being maybe half as filled. "Woah, that's a lot for a girl... are you sure you want to eat all of that?"

The brunette shrugged and picked up a fork. "That depends on how hungry I am, to be honest."

Then she smirked at Compa. "A growing girl needs to eat, after all."

She got a few obvious and a few less obvious looks, but ignored them in favour of watching Compa's amused expression. The other girl shrugged and went to start on her own lunch. "I guess... I have to watch how much I eat or I get all plump."

IF was not sure about that comment; from her point of view, Compa was showing quite some curves for a fourteen-year-old, but did not really appear out of proportion. She did get what was meant, though. "Eh, it's actually the other way around for me. I exercise a lot, so I need to eat." Although this was a topic she was not particularly interested in talking about; training was good, but also monotonous. IF had little to do aside from reining in her body at those times. "Anyway, what's your focus?"

Her question made Compa perk up. "Oh, I want to become a nurse, so I'm focussing on medicine, first aid and all the other stuff I need for that." The girl motioned with her fork while explaining, enthusiasm and excitement evident in her voice. IF nodded slightly in understanding. "Ah, so that's why we have so few classes together; I'm more going for a general education with focus on science."

Seeing that they had completely different foci, their classes were vastly different; IF's only course in the medical wing was on fitness. She stayed in the science centre or gymnasium otherwise.

"Oh, I see. Do you know what you want to be later?" Not that Compa seemed to mind at all, she just continued eating. IF methodically devastated her own lunch as well, enjoying the bites a bit but chewing quick. In-between, she answered the other girl: "I'm going for the Guild, actually. It sounds right for me."

Compa smiled over her response and IF was vaguely aware that others were talking... but then again, it did not matter that much. Having someone friendly to talk to was nice.

Today was a good day without doubt.

**. .**

**. .**

It took a few days until they managed to get lunch together again; IF found that she liked spending time with Compa. The other girl was a gentle soul.

She was a little confused when the two of them were the only ones at their table, though. IF did not particularly mind it being just them, but Compa was obviously a social butterfly. Seeing her show up without anyone else woke her interest. "Just you today?"

The other girl shrugged slightly and took her seat next to IF. "The others didn't want to eat with you, so it's just me."

That, on the other hand, made a lot more sense. Except for one little fact, which had IF raise an eyebrow and lower her fork again. "Oh, I see. It's a little surprising you would come talk to me instead of your friends, though."

It took a moment, but then Compa started to giggle and gave her a bright smile. "Now now, it's not like I'm abandoning the others. You're my friend, too."

Her words made warmth bubble in IF's chest, although she did not let it show; she just ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm glad to hear that."

Then she focussed back on her meal. _Friend_. The word did sound nice, especially after IF already resigned herself to another four years without anyone to really talk to; it had been the same during elementary school and middle school, so she was used to it by now.

The girls ate in silence for most of the time; Compa kept stealing glances at her that IF pretended not to notice while she took care of her meal. If the other girl wanted to say something, she would come around eventually. At least that was her reasoning.

Although, now that she thought about it, IF was obviously not an actual name. Compa may be, she was not sure. With a contemplating glance at her schoolmate, the brunette decided asking about it was fine: "I'm curious, is Compa your actual name?"

"Hm? Oh, no. Not at all." Peach-coloured hair flew when the other girl shook her head. "It's Colette, actually... but that's hard to say for children, so my friends back then just made Compa out of it. It kind of stuck and I think it's cute."

At least Compa had a nicer story about it than she did; the other girl was giving her a curious look now. "What about you? IF sounds pretty strict."

The brunette paused her hand in mid-air before lowering the fork and shrugging. "I thought of it during break between elementary school and middle school. It's actually Isabelle, but I don't really like that anymore... so I shortened it to initials instead."

There were quite a few people who thought it funny, which she could understand by now; just initials was incredibly uncreative. Considering IF was ten at the time, she considered herself forgiven. Compa just nodded in understanding. "I think it sounds pretty, but I get what you mean."

Neither of them spoke for a while as they finished up their respective meals and put away the silverware. Once they were done however, IF took a look at her phone to find that they still had about half an hour before their afternoon-classes started.

"Actually, IF... I was thinking we could maybe go do something together?" Her eyes blinked over to Compa, deep green meeting faint orange in surprise. That was unusual in itself, although she kind of did mention she thought of them as friends.

IF pondered for a moment, knowing that she could shift her timetable around well enough. So she gave a slow nod and felt the muscles in her face pull taut. There was her smile again, apparently. "Sounds good to me... I'm a tad busy on weekdays, though... and this Saturday doesn't work at all because I need to help out at home. How about Sunday?"

Now it was for Compa to think, which she did with a hand on her chin and a happy grin on her face. "Mhm, I think I... oh, that fits well. I wouldn't have time on Saturday anyway. Sunday afternoon, maybe?"

Only now did IF realise how she just sounded; she ought to make time instead of blocking everything but what was convenient for her. Flushing a faint pink and barely stopping herself from squirming, the brunette nodded quickly. "Yeah, that sounds fine."

How embarassing; even Compa having time on Sunday did not make it much better. Not that her new friend seemed to notice IF's thoughts, considering how she beamed at her.

**. .**

**. .**

With the date and meeting place set, everything was fine and the remainder of the week passed quickly enough. Unfortunately, IF failed to realise that going out into town meant shopping. Which in turn meant that she was completely unprepared for being dragged around clothing stores. At least Compa allowed her to be embarassed and not come out of the changing booth. She did not like to take off her coat in public unless she had to.

That did not stop Compa from trying on a lot of different outfits, from sundresses to coats similar to IF's own; she seemed to have fun showing off and IF honestly did not mind giving her opinion, even though it was in no way based on knowledge. She just said what she thought, which appeared to be enough to keep her new friend happy.

Once they left the store however, Compa gave her a sad look. "You're not having fun, right?"

Surprised by the insight, IF only shrugged and buried her hands in some of her wider pockets. "Not really, no. It's not your fault, I just don't get why people are so excited about buying clothes. Or shoes."

She was not one for vanity, much preferring to spend her time on exercises and studies. Granted, there were a few cute shirts she wanted to get for herself, but... not when anyone could see. She would go back and pick those up later, IF decided.

Meanwhile, Compa's face fell and she lowered her gaze in understanding. "Oh, I see. I guess you're not one for shopping... ah, I know!" The girl perked up about as fast as her expression went down before. "You choose what we do next, that's only fair."

Confronted with that kind of logic, IF yielded and offered a weak smile of her own. She was not exactly happy with how this day was going. Compa only tried to be nice, so she might as well try to be more enthusiastic about things. Yet she had to think about the rest of her training regimen for the day, bringing the schedule back out in her mind every few minutes. It got a little better when she was in the lead, though; now IF had something to occupy her thoughts with.

Sadly, Compa was not any better at hiding her lack of enthusiasm for the weapon store IF choose to visit; the brunette liked looking through the different models and comparing specs, if just for the fun of it. As it seemed, she was alone on that one. It was not for a lack of trying, though; Compa followed her around and they talked a little about one thing or another, smalltalk without much substance. IF hated this kind of thing a lot, but just staying quiet all the time was rude.

After a while though, with the two of them eyeing a well-crafted rapier, Compa spoke up: "I... I guess we don't have much in common?"

IF shrugged and wondered what to say; it was always the same, most people just did not share her hobbies. Or lack thereof. "I guess so."

She tensed a little, waiting for the usual dismissal... but Compa just kept quiet and watched IF for a while before offering a brighter smile. Her eyes lightened up as well. "It's fine, I'm sure there is something we can do together."

Despite the fact she was already prepared for a letdown, relief coursed through IF nonetheless. She kept it under a lid, though. "Yeah, there probably is." She turned away from the weapon in front of her and pondered what else they could do; there was still an hour or two to spend before it got dark. "How about... we go get some tea?"

It was not something she usually did, mostly because her allowance was tiny and the drinks from those stalls overpriced, but having something hot to sip from during winter sounded like a good idea. With how Compa nodded, she seemed to think the same.

So the two left the store and returned into Planeptune's cold weather, shivering a little as their boots crunched over fresh snow. IF always mourned the fact this particular shop was a good ways away from the mall, so they could not enjoy more friendly temperatures for a while longer. To pass the time, she tried to strike up a conversation again. "Say, what kind of weapon do you use?"

"Huh?" Compa turned her head around after having taken the lead again, registering the question before shrugging a little sheepishly. "Um... nothing fancy. I'm not a strong girl, so I just got myself a beam saber. I'm not planning on going out."

That sounded reasonable to IF; beam sabers were light, easy to carry and worked well against most Monsters. They also came with the added perk of requiring no real maintenance; the blade could not become dull or bent and broken hardware could be repaired basically everywhere. They were good for weaker people and those that just carried a weapon for safety reasons.

Compa grabbed the small handle out of her coat's pocket and showed it to her for emphasis; not a model IF knew, but she did not spend as much time on beam tech. Though a plasma cannon would be interesting to see, she had to admit.

"What do you use? I guess something more traditional, I heard the Guild doesn't like beam weapons much." Compa's musings caused IF to blink.

"Huh." She heard the same thing and said as such. "I read that, too. It's mostly because getting used to the weight of any other weapon is difficult if you use one of those for a while... and the battery life is not really good for near-constant use; your electricity bills would skyrocket if you had to charge one after an eight-hour shift five days per week, too."

Compa giggled a little and IF felt pretty good with herself; weapons were a topic she could work with. "Anyway, I'm using a pair of katars. They complement a speed-oriented style pretty nicely."

They wandered up to one of the stalls in the main plaza now, the white plasteel and metallic buildings drowned out by warm reds and greens from the market put up here. There was not much going on this day; only a few people were out here, either socialising or entertaining their children.

Turning away from the plaza, IF noticed Compa giving her a curious look. She only spoke after each of them got herself a cup of hot tea, though: "What were katars again? I kind of forgot most of the lessons we got." Compa sheepishly hid herself behind the styrofoam cup as she said it.

IF took a probing sip of her own tea and burned her tongue, then shrugged. "It's fine, I forgot a lot of things, too. Katars are a little longer than daggers, but attached to the arm instead of held in the hand. Here, hold that for a moment."

She handed her cup over to Compa, who held onto it with just her fingertips; probably not to burn them, seeing that she did the same to her own cup. IF ignored it and felt under her coat for the familiar shape of her weapons, strapping them off her waist and holding one up for her friend to see.

Then she slipped her hand through the tight band and pulled it over her arm until it sat properly; with the hilt now fixed in place, her blade began at wrist-level. "I can still use my hands like that, it's useful."

"Ohhh!"

Granted, those were cheap weapons, not anything of quality. It did not stop IF from being happy with them; the hardened cloth wrapped around her arm was tight and ensured that the weapon would stay in place even under stress. The brunette pushed it back off after another moment, returning the katar to where she got it from. "Anyway, let's find a place that's a little warmer."

It did not even take long until they found such a place, as the shopping mall IF thought about earlier was not that far away anymore; they found an empty bench inside, so the two girls sat down and idly looked around at the people surrounding them. No one really paid attention to them as everyone was busy doing shopping for the upcoming holidays.

It was a weird Sunday, that much she knew; IF quietly nursed her cup and took another sip, wondering if that was what she missed out on during the last eight years. She did not regret her decisions, although it felt good to spend time with someone else for once. For some reason however, Compa kept throwing glances her way; IF noticed and waited for the other girl to speak up.

They sat like this for a few minutes, the cups soon empty and the soothing warmth trailing down into her belly gone. IF rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her new friend. "Okay, I give... what's up?"

Compa flinched and shook her head quickly "Nothing." IF's brow did not lower and the other girl soon averted her gaze, squirming in her seat. The brunette bent over to throw away her cup, but then she was right back to staring. Until Compa gave. "Um... it's just, I've been wondering... you said you're busy on weekdays, are you working somewhere?"

The question made her think back to the conversation with Histoire; technically, IF _was_ working now... or would be soon. She already had the contract signed after all. Nonetheless, she shook her head. "Not yet, but my training eats up the time I have between school and homework."

It also ate up half of her weekend, although she figured leaving that out would be better for now. She knew from experience that people reacted weirdly when she told them and Compa was already sitting with visible contemplation.

"Huh, do they give that much homework in your science-class or do you train a lot? I mean, you did say you had to eat because of that but... um..."

IF was not stupid; she dismissed the thought before, but now she was sure that there was more to this. Suppressing a sigh and bracing for whatever it might be, the brunette nudged Compa's side. "How about you just say whatever you want to say?"

Compa on her part flushed in embarassment and averted her gaze. "I guess I was that obvious. It's just, I heard the others talking and..."

She paused, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. IF did not even bother checking, people rarely cared unless things got loud. Once she was sure no one seemed interested in their conversation, Compa turned her gaze back to IF. "It's just... with how much you eat, I heard people saying that you're... um... wearing that wide coat to hide how you actually look... um..."

Now the smaller girl blinked in understanding. She almost snorted after realising what this was about. "Wait a second, they think I'm fat? That's all this is about?" The tension fled her form in an instant, replaced by relaxation and a little mirth. True, she was not completely comfortable with others seeing her, but IF could not be happier with her body. It was healthy and strong.

Compa, oblivious to the brunette's thoughts, nodded shily. After a moment of consideration, IF just rolled her eyes and decided to make an exception for once. For a new friend. So the girl began to unclasp the buckles on her coat with a sly smile. "You really could have just asked; pretty sure none of the people you heard talking are in my gym-classes."

**::**

Compa was not entirely comfortable. She told her friends off for talking like they did, but the thought remained in her mind like a comfy kitten that did not want to go away from a warm hearth. Her feelings were also mixed on the fact that her newest friend seemed to care so little about it. She noticed IF ignoring the others, but figured it was alright because they would not get along anyway.

Then her thoughts halted when the girl she spent the afternoon with opened the final clasp and slid off her coat.

First of all, how could anyone wear shorts and a tight shirt under a thin coat _in winter_? Or wait, was that a one-piece?

The second thing Compa noticed was entirely different, though. Aside from faint traces of acne that passed by, like she had herself, IF's skin was taut and looked smooth. Muscles rippled under her skin with every movement. Her arms and legs were a little thick for a girl, making her look not petite and frail, but nimble and strong.

IF let Compa's gaze glide over her features a little longer before stretching her back and shrugging slightly. "It's true I'm a little overweight, seventy kilos to about one fifty five in height. I'm pretty sure most of that weight is muscles, though." After a few more seconds of surprised staring, IF slid the coat back on and hid her features again, the contours vanishing under their cover before anyone would start staring. Compa also noticed that her newest friend was blushing for some reason.

_Wait. Wait..._

She just now realised, she did kind of ask IF to spend an afternoon together with just the two of them. And now after what just happened... did she ask the other girl on a date without realising? Compa paused, trying to think of what they did together.

_Let's see... no hand-holding, no flirting, I think? No weird events or anything like that... huh, I'm in the clear._ At least she was pretty sure about that. Compa knew she liked boys, so accidentally asking out a girl again would have been all kinds of weird. But why was IF blushing? She was pretty, so there was really no need to be embarassed in her opinion.

"You're pretty is what I think."

_Mouth, no! Wrong signs, wrong signs!_

In this very moment, with IF's green eyes widening and the pink hue on her cheeks turning a deep scarlet, Compa wanted to kick herself. She wanted to clarify or say anything at all, but with her luck today, things would just get worse. So she kept quiet and waited anxiously for what reaction she might get.

"T-Thank you." The brunette's voice was soft and weaker than usual, but the blush on her cheeks already vanished. IF did not meet her eyes, though. Compa was vaguely aware of some passing glances going their way now; IF seemed to notice them as well, seeing that she sighed and got up. "We should get going."

So back out into the cold it was; she much preferred that to the awkward atmosphere inside the mall. Once they were wandering the streets of downtown Nicos however, she realised they were mostly alone on the snowy streets and completely alone on the walkway. IF kept quiet for long minutes, though... and Compa did not feel it in her to break the silence.

In the end, it was IF who spoke up. "Um... I'm not sure how to say this, but I think there is a little something I should mention." She made a noncommital sound and turned her gaze to the brunette, panicking on the inside that the other girl _did_ think it was a date after all.

"So... I realised a bit earlier that, uh, I'm probably giving off the wrong impression? I mean, with how I asked and everything, it makes it sound as if I asked you on a date, but I really didn't. So I hope you didn't get that impression."

Compa took a moment to digest her friend's words before relief flooded her; then she became aware of the hilarity of it all, breaking into giggles. "Heh. Hehehe..."

She could not help it, Compa had to giggle over her realisation. She was not the only one who had been worried after all. After catching herself and offering a content sigh, she smiled a little brighter at IF. "Sorry, I just... I was worried about the same thing."

This time, she could see it a little better than before; the moment IF actually realised what was said, how her lips curled upward and the weird line between her eyes vanished. The brunette worked her jaw for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Alright, good that went off without any further embarassment."

The energy field continued to transport them along as both girls stood next to each other with goofy smiles on their faces. Compa giggled again and nodded. "Yeah, that's good. We should do that again during the holidays. It's fun."

"Yeah, it is. I wouldn't mind."


	5. A Small Beginning 4

_Why do you have that many pictures down here, sis?... Huh. I can not imagine human friends, to be honest. Can we go meet them when I'm older?_

-Purple Sister

* * *

Now that another year had ended and school started up again, Compa was a little bit sad. IF and her actually managed to meet up thrice a week over the holidays, but would have to go back to once or twice again.

Simply put, she was amazed; never before had she met a girl so focussed on her goal. IF's determination made Compa ponder her own actions more than she used to, seeing how little effort she gave her own studies recently. Going out with friends was just so much more fun.

It bothered her a little that IF did not seem to have any friends; the other girl freely admitted it when prompted, without being bothered much by it.

Furthermore, Compa learned a lot about responsibility in the time she knew her newest friend. That was why she decided not to go out the week of the winter solstice, after her grandfather got a cold; instead she stayed at home and took care of him just like he always took care of her when she was sick, despite his protests and reassurances.

Weeks went by and in the end, Compa remained happy about having found the courage to talk to IF that day; they were great friends. The peach-haired girl remained unhappy about being unable to celebrate the winter solstice with her, though. Not that there was much to celebrate, but having a nice get-together sounded like just the right thing to her.

Either way, Compa was determined to invite IF for the summer solstice or Day of Creation.

"I still don't get what you like about her. She's antisocial, doesn't go to any events, doesn't even talk to anyone... I give her that she's hot when the coat comes off, but that's all she has going for her." Ah, Alice. Just as usual, the smallest member of their group tried to push the topic; Compa was not exactly happy about it, but she decided that fighting over the matter would be too much. She much preferred if everyone stayed nice.

The petite blonde absent-mindedly played with her ponytail while watching Compa, everyone else looking either impartial or uninterested. Compa herself shrugged at her friend. "We get along and she is nice enough." It was the same response she gave the last four times anyone asked. Not that the others believed her, though they did not argue the matter anymore. That was a start, maybe they would actually believe her if she said it often enough.

Then, all of a sudden, sirens began to howl and the five of them stopped with what they were doing. Compa flinched at the sound and Presea almost dropped her fork; they all knew this sound from the annual test drills and two real cases that had taken place during their lifetime before.

Monster alarm.

People on the streets started to move quickly now; all over Nicos, everyone older than ten years old prepared their weapons just in case before seeking shelter in nearby buildings. Many opened their doors for others and soon the capital's streets lay empty.

**::**

IF was just as surprised by the whole thing as anyone else; she had been halfway through her run when the sirens started up and quickly stopped to seek shelter. Home was too far and as she looked around, an elderly woman waved at her from her doorstep. The girl nodded appreciatively and jogged over, together with a gaggle of other people.

Everyone was let inside with a Thank You to the lady, who clapped her hands and ushered them in after they took off their shoes. A businessman muttered under his breath over being late for work while a street cleaner and a second office worker worriedly looked out of the windows. The elementary schooler in their group was following their host around as she made the place more presentable, chattering excitedly at the smallest prompt.

IF wanted to go out into the streets and patrol for Monsters that made it past the city's defenses, just like the Guild agents had begun to do by now. What stopped her was the vivid memory of Histoire's words; that most people her age were too full of themselves and charged ahead without thinking about it.

As much as she hated it, she would have to sit this one out. Breakthroughs were unlikely in the first place, but getting reckless now might end up hurting her more than sitting tight and maybe missing an opportunity.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something cold touching her fingers; IF blinked down at the glass in her hand, then back up at her host, who held a tray and a grandmotherly smile. "Here, have some refreshments, dear. You must be thirsty after exercising."

"Oh, thank you," the brunette mumbled in surprise before taking a sip and nodding appreciately; the elder just ruffled her hair and moved on to her other guests. IF bore it and started looking around to pass the time, noting fine suits and overalls and everything in-between. People sat in some mixed groups, discussing some show or other. Another elder was with the little boy right now, telling him a story; the child listened raptly, a sight that IF knew all too well from home.

Then her eyes fell on a few boxes pushed to the side and she got an idea. When her host passed by the next time, she gently pulled at her sleeve to get her attention. "Ma'am? What are those for?"

The old lady followed her gaze to the boxes, then she shrugged weakly. "Oh, I am still busy moving in and my son carried those, they are too heavy for me. Living in the capital is much different than toward the sea, I tell you, dear. Why do you ask?"

IF simply smiled and got up. "I can give you a hand with those," she said. Some other people noticed their conversation and started listening in while the woman showed a pleasantly surprised expression. "Oh my, thank you, dear. But they are really heavy. Are you sure?"

"Don't worry," the brunette reassured her host and went over to lift the largest box; it comfortably fit onto her angled arms, easily going up. Having something spacious like this in her hands was still different from lifting weights at the gym, but not too different. IF held up the box and only barely managed to flash a smile over it. "See? Now where does this go?"

She went through the flat under her host's directions, a spring in her step about being able to repay the kindness; a few other people followed with the remaining boxes rather quickly and everything was set where it belonged within minutes. Those who had nothing to carry kept them updated over what was going on outside, their cellphones receiving new chirps from the Basilicom steadily.

When sirens called again to note the lockdown's end, everyone said their goodbyes and headed out. The old lady saw them off at the door with a wide smile on her face; one which IF shared as she shook out her legs a few times. Then it faded and returned to a neutral expression as she got going again, mind back on the exercise.

Or she would have, had her phone not rung this instant. IF could not help but roll her eyes at the additional interruption. The sweat on her skin had mostly dried, but it was _still_ January and she stood in the cold taking a phone call. "IF speaking?"

"Ah, Iffy! I just wanted to make sure you're okay... I mean, you said you're going to Virtua, right? And then the alarm and I got worried and-" "Compa?" She gently interrupted her friend's babbling and let the annoyance fade; Mari and everyone else at home knew that she was fine either way, so someone calling to check on her was an unusual experience.

IF turned and started walking while reassuring the other girl. "I'm perfectly fine, don't worry. I was still in the city when the alarm started. What about you?"

"Hm? Oh, right; I was with my friends, but we all decided to go home now. I still have homework to do, too and-" Compa happily chatted away while IF went up on the walkways, wandering over solid air and toward the capital's border. It was true she was going to Virtua Forest, but not just to train like she told her friend. Or Mari, for that matter.

The brunette knew that she would have to go there and further outside when working with the Guild. She barely remembered what happened that day, yet had to make sure seeing the place would not trigger her. This task in itself filled her with dread that went suppressed, but the fact she had someone just talking at her helped take some of it away. IF's tense muscles relaxed fractionally, the girl herself breathing in crisp, cold air.

"So, um," Compa started reluctantly after a while. IF just waited patiently for her to continue while stepping aside to clear the way, letting a group of Basilicom-attendants pass in the other direction. "I was wondering... is it okay if I come visit your place sometime? I noticed I've never really seen it and got curious."

The brunette paused in her step for a few moments, pondering what to say. She did not really _want_ to show her home to people, but Compa was a friend. In the end, this was what made the difference to her. "Sure, I guess? Just don't expect too much."

"Don't worry, Iffy; I'm sure it's a great place. See you in class tomorrow!"

"See you."

IF ended the call and sighed over the nickname made out of her nickname. Compa probably did not even realise what she actually called her and the brunette did not have the heart to tell her. Her phone quickly wandered back into one of her many pockets and the girl took up speed.

The road soon fell and led into a tunnel with no less than four security checkpoints; they were manned with twice as many people today, which IF could understand in light of what happened. Virtua Forest _was_ the only publicly accessible area outside a city all around Gamindustri, after all. She reasoned there should be no tourists around this afternoon, though; they would probably stay in the city right after a monster alarm.

Nonetheless, men and women she passed nodded at her or waved, to which she responded in kind while jogging past.

When next the girl saw daylight, it was in the middle of untamed nature; the area around the exit was free of leafless trees and bushes, but they were not far away, growing without order or control. It looked much less clean or orderly than the parks inside, but also something else IF had trouble describing even to herself. Her dread slowly left and she began to walk, head turning this way and that. Cold wind rustled bare wood and made her coat flutter as she went, uncomfortable tension rolling in her stomach.

She did not feel much different out there, she thought while stepping around a large root. Aside from the fact there were no actual pathways to follow, she might as well have been inside.

The only thing IF would never, ever see within a city was the group of Dogoos hobbling by, just a few dozen metres away.

She stilled and watched the monsters with sharp eyes, immediately recalling what she read about them. _Dogoo, weakest known Monster. Monocoloured slime with a short animal tail and snout, as well as large eyes. Appears cute and is not hostile while approaching, but corrosive on the inside. A dozen and more can merge together into a Giant Dogoo that is much more dangerous. Preferred strategy is jumping on the target and drawing them in for digestion once they got a hold on it._

It was her first time actually seeing monsters; she avoided Virtua Forest so far for fear of reacting badly to it, which her schools and the orphanage accepted when they organised their field trips. The Dogoos themselves, half a dozen by her count, noticed her after a few more seconds and turned to hop her way with wagging tails. They _did_ look goofy instead of threatening, but IF knew it was just a trick. Weak as they were, their main targets were children fooled by their cutesy behaviour.

Strangely enough, her excitement was barely noticeable, now that she began to focus on the threat instead.

The brunette took a few quick glances around and sighed; she had only her katars on her and was too young for a firearm anyway, so her only way of dealing with them without getting into touching distance was magic. Magic that she would much rather keep a secret but was also dying to test out.

After another glance, IF focussed and drew on the power surging through her body. She _plucked_ the smallest possible piece off of the mass and directed it through her arm, into her palm. With one hand directed at the closing Monsters, IF's eyes narrowed. Once she _pushed_, a tongue of fire licked out of her skin; it easily bridged the remaining ten metres before engulfing her targets, making them boil before popping like overripe fruit. Silvery light shone for but an instant as all six Dogoos disintegrated into particles that quickly vanished.

The whole area steamed for a few seconds before surrounding cold air rushed in and returned the equilibrium; IF regarded her slightly stinging hand, then the slightly scorched earth. Nothing caught fire in the wet and cold weather, which was a plus; considering her barely passable control and incredible reserves in Spellpower, she really only could use fire in situations like these.

"...should've taken the damn test...," the girl muttered while walking away; she was a stupid child back then, the consequences of which she now felt. It made her first slain monsters feel much less of an accomplishment than they should have.

IF tried to teach herself what any mage learned under a teacher over the years, using books and the internet as best as she could, though quite a bit later than any other potential mage. By the time she realised nobody would force her into a line of work she did not want because of her high SP, it was far too late to get the basics down into her instincts.

At this point it was simple embarassment stopping her from having her magic assessed, as well as the fear that her lack of control might lead to trouble with her contract.

Into her mixture of euphoria and unhappiness stumbled a lone Dogoo as it crossed her path, which she drowned in a wave of white light from her left hand; then she once again thanked the Lady and her ancestry for having _three_ affinities instead of one as was normal; they were fire, light, and healing respectively.

Of course she knew she could use the other elements and pure magic, yet she did not dare. Her control over the elements she was most inclined to was already nothing to speak of, so she really did not need to have shenanigans happening, such as accidentally electrocuting herself.

Another problem, she found, was that her prodigious amount of Spellpower made it even more difficult to control her magic. Another three Dogoos exploded into particles when her light crashed into them. She could only guess how much she had to put into her magic, but the feeling and instructional videos were enough to tell her it was a lot.

Quite some time passed quietly as IF wandered, occasionally greeting a Guild-patrol or civilians walking past, but without anyone stopping her. Then she heard the rustling and turned her head immediately, coming face to face with the aggressive gaze of a Wolf.

IF blinked only once before assessing her situation, knowing she had no time for fear. Drawing her weapons would take too long, which left only magic, seeing that she was dumb enough not to strap on the katars.

Kicking herself mentally, the girl drew some more fire into her arm and turned fully to the Monster, which slowly stalked forward and began to growl at her. IF knew they were fast and smart, but also pack hunters. This one was definitely alone -she would have seen an ambush in this area- and appeared to deem her easy prey. From what she read, IF had to wait until one jumped so they could no longer dodge.

So she waited as it drew closer, closer, and closer still.

The misty breaths each of them produced almost touched before the Monster leaped, only to be bathed in fire the moment it left the ground; yet IF had not properly adjusted for something stronger than a Dogoo, which allowed it to push through and sink its teeth into her hand.

The girl squeak-screamed in surprise as pain surged through her whole arm; It hurt horribly, burning as if she had once again tried to control far too much fire.

IF quickly grabbed for the Wolf's muzzle with her free hand to pull, then pushed the injured hand down. Despite the pain gnawing at her mind and a layer of crimson forming on her hand, she did not cease, pushing through with gritted teeth. Her hands slowly parted the offending Monster's jaw.

Even though it tried to bite down again, it was ultimately unable to stop her. IF took her strength together and _pushed_ another gout of flame right down its gullet from a single finger. The beast squealed in pain before exploding into light.

IF immediately clutched her bloody hand with a hiss and pulled more of her Spellpower there; many, many accidents had given her a good idea about how to use healing magic on herself. As green light began to glimmer around the wound, her pierced flesh quickly knitted itself back together. IF spent that time staring at the crimson droplets falling down from it. It was a morbid sight, yet one she felt she had to get used to in time.

Sighing and trying her best to ignore the pain, IF grabbed for the package of tissues in one of her pockets; shredded skin had regrown without even a hint of scar tissue by the time she finished wiping off the blood. Her hands kept shaking all the way, still filled with adrenaline that came much too late.

The girl took a few deep breaths to relax her body, though she was still coiled like a spring. She slowly calmed down physically when nothing happened for a while, the cool wind soothing where blood had warmed her skin before.

Be it either the fact she was treading away from usually used paths or simple luck, no one had spotted her or her predicament thus far. IF decided not to push it, pocketed the bloody cloth and checked her phone's compass to make sure she was turning in the right direction.

That Wolf scared her, but she knew it could have been much, much worse. No getting triggered by either the monsters or the environment, no nothing. IF pushed down her agitation and calmed her upset stomach by walking steadily. Traces of blood were still on her hands, but nobody would notice those before she got to wash them.

All in all, the girl found, she was quite happy with the day's results. Several Dogoos, a Wolf, and all of them without having been seen by anyone.

IF hugged herself in delight, knowing that this was only her first step. She had two more years to prepare; once it was time, that she swore to herself, something like this would not happen again.

**. .**

**. .**

Days went by peacefully and Saturday soon arrived, with Compa humming happily as she tied her shoelaces. It was almost noon and about time she headed over; a strip of paper with the address for IF's place was stored in her pocket, just in case she forgot it on the way. Several embarassing incidents of that kind taught the peach-haired girl to be cautious in this regard.

Unfortunately, her belief that nothing in the world could surprise her this day took a damper at around the time she came down from the walkway; as the girl took a little hop off the last bit of its energy field, she spied a sign proclaiming the nearest building to be Sunflower Orphanage. A quick double-check with her note confirmed that this was the place.

Compa took a deep breath as some things started to click into place. Now she knew why IF never talked about her parents even if she tried to prompt her into it.

A faint throb went through her chest at the thought of her own late family, the pain lessened by time and her grandfather's care.

After another moment she used to steady herself and shiver in the upcoming breeze, Compa carried on and through the front gate; with the orderly lawn unoccupied in this time of year, there was nothing to distract her from the sign put up right before a crossing. It instructed all first-time visitors to go straight forward to the reception; recurring visitors as well as inhabitants were allowed to skip that and continue on to the orphanage proper over the right turn.

After reading the instructions carefully and rubbing her running nose, Compa nodded to herself and went through the doors up ahead. They slid aside in front of her and fell back in place once she passed, warm air immediately making the girl's cheeks prickle as she looked around.

Aside from her and a middle-aged woman manning the counter, there was no one in sight. The pinkette gently marked her progress in whatever she was reading, then offered her a friendly nod. "Welcome to the Sunflower. I take it you want to visit someone?"

Compa nodded enthusiastically before realising she ought to say something, which she quickly added in with the hope nobody noticed the pause: "Yep. I'm Colette, uh, Padmore." She had no idea if her full name was in any way relevant, but might as well say it just in case. After a moment of thought and a faint blush, she offered another addition: "I wanted to see Iffy... ah, Isabelle."

There she went and went two for two feet in her mouth.

Contrary to her expectation however, the adult's expression brightened; even though she chuckled, too. "Hehehe, is that so? Isabelle rarely gets any visitors, that's quite a surprise. Though you better not mention that nickname inside or no one's going to let her forget it. Come on dear, I can show you where to go... and I'm Marianne, by the way."

She tapped a few buttons and got up while pushing a few strands of hair aside; Compa took note of the few wrinkles adorning her forehead and cheeks, as well as the gentle yet firm stride she showed once standing. Then she decided she liked her.

They passed through a door in the back, where her guide high-fived with a tall man to tag out; he entered the reception-area as they left it, leaving Compa to look around at the clean hallway. The walls were white at first, but turned yellow after the next set of doors; those led them into a somewhat bigger hall filled with shoeracks and a door outside.

She left her shoes here on the rack closest to the exit, the brown plush carpet soft under her socks once she set foot on it. Marianne gave her an appreciative nod before shepherding the girl along.

"It's nice to meet you after all," the woman remarked as they went down another hallway, its walls brimming with pictures and drawings. "Isabelle did mention you a few times. I'm glad she made a friend in school."

Compa just hummed in response, not really having any good answer beyond "She is nice". Her guide did not seem to mind either way; the two of them passed through spacious hallways and by well-furnished common rooms. A few gazes went her way, though Compa hardly noticed while taking in the place. It was her first time seeing an orphanage from the inside, though she already realised it was not much different from most normal houses. Just bigger and with more people.

As they wandered on, chatting a little about school, the teenager soon began to hear a choir of children giggling and squealing happily, with some more shouts and other sounds mixed in. Marianne's eyebrows rose the tiniest bit, but nothing else on her face gave away what might be going on. The two approached the common room the commotion came from and stealthily peeked inside.

Only to find IF on all fours, with a little boy and girl riding on her back. Other children were playing around those three while the brunette walked easily, showing a fond smile to the world.

That was all Compa could see before a calloused hand gently pulled her back around and a few metres away. "You shouldn't mention that to her," Marianne told her with a gentle gaze and a nod toward the mostly open doors. "The younger children love her, but Isabelle gets easily embarassed if people see her like that. Okay?"

She quickly nodded. "Okay, I won't say a word... but I never thought Iff-ah, Isa does things like that." It took a quick correction to not spill IF's nickname, which the older woman took with an appreciative wink and a shrug.

"I'm not entirely sure why," she honestly told Compa, "but she did this ever since she was little. It's sad she will never go into work with children, but that's not who she is.

"Anyway," the woman mumbled while turning back to the doors. Then she rapped on them a few times. "Have you seen Isabelle? Her friend is here." The only response was a lot of frantic whispering and rustling, followed by a ruffled IF walking out. The girl herself was followed by a few tiny heads peeking out of the room, watching them.

Compa pretended not to notice the children and waved at her friend, who did the same before ushering her away. She did not resist, though her and Marianne exchanged knowing looks before Compa was around a corner and out of sight.

The walk to IF's room became quiet after that, interrupted only by new directions. Her friend _had_ a room of her own, just like every child here at fourteen and older. The inside of it was almost exactly how Compa expected it to be, too: neat and tidy, but also barren. Nothing but a sky blue wallpaper adorned the walls, no toys or dolls or plushies were placed on the bed and desk. IF had no other furniture except for a wardrobe, either.

"Sorry, I don't really spend much time in here. Guess it shows." She apparently noticed Compa's frown for the instance it was there. IF turned her chair around and sat down on the bed, so her visitor eagerly took the offered seat. She used this moment to check out the small stack of books next to IF's laptop, finding a pleasant surprise which she brought up immediately.

"You're interested in history, too?" Compa excitedly pointed at the two topmost books for emphasis, her joy rising once again. Now she knew they had _something_ in common, not that they needed to to get along.

IF only shrugged in response, though. "A bit. I'm mostly reading recent history... and there isn't really anything about the time before Tari, anyway."

That last part was unfortunately true. Compa knew it by heart, seeing how often she scoured nearby libraries and the internet. The actual reason behind Tari's fall was still unknown to this day, almost one and a half millenia later. Goddess Blue Heart had vanished one day, the same day large parts of the inland fell to ruin and became the desert later formed into Planeptune. With that, many historical accounts of previous nations were lost.

"I see, I'm really curious about these things. Did you know Tari was founded somewhere between Planeptune and Lastation? They're still finding old ruins to this day, too." It was nice to have something to talk about, Compa found. IF obviously agreed, considering how fast she relaxed. "I saw the first part somewhere, but the second is new. Do they find anything interesting?"

The peach-haired girl shrugged in response. "They still haven't found the capital. I read that lastationite teams recently found a few buildings underground, too. It's an old shopping mall or something like that, and the first time we ever got preserved Tarian clothes. Turns out their styles were pretty similar to our own, but fancy robes were used for special occasions instead of suits and dresses."

Compa continued with a few other tidbits from other places and the like, content with the fact IF paid attention and asked questions. The topic might be a bit unusual, but their friendship was probably not normal in the first place.

They left the subject matter soon, talking about school and homework and other things. Now that she somehow got the ball rolling, Compa had no trouble finding more to talk about; it was always like that, only the start remained difficult. IF answered her and offered a lot of trivia, too.

At some point however, there was a knock on the door and Marianne's faintly familiar voice called out: "It's time for dinner, girls!" Her friend blinked in confusion before flipping open her phone to check. Compa was confused as well, mainly about the time they just spent chatting. Then she realised she never really got to talk with IF for long. It was nice.

In addition, there was really nothing else to do here; her friend had no games or movies, or anything else of that kind.

"Alright, I'm coming!" IF waited a few seconds before sighing, then got up. "Time sure was flying today." They shrugged at each other, though neither of them seemed unhappy. Compa got up as well, all smiles yet again. "It was. You should come by at my place sometime, too."

The other girl took that with another shrug. "Sure, I don't mind."

**. .**

**. .**

IF only barely suppressed another sigh as she was let into the Padmores' apartment. She should have expected that 'sometime' actually meant 'as soon as possible'. Which, in this case, was right the following day.

With their greetings out of the way, Compa already led her through the hallway and into a spacious living room. There however, their path was blocked. By an old man holding a tray and a smile. "Look at that, my little Colette brought someone new. Perhaps you are the one for her?"

Even though his tone made it clear he was joking, IF failed to stop herself from blushing. Compa did not fare much better, though she started to pout instead. "Why do you do this every time, grandpa?" It came out more as a whine, though the elder responded by chuckling and holding the tray out to them. "Because embarassing your grandkids is the best part of being old. Here you go, girls."

The hot chocolate seemed to mollify her friend somewhat; IF took one of the offered mugs as well after thanking her host. Looking at him more closely, she started to notice some similarities. He was not that old yet, perhaps in his sixties or seventies; fine lines had already left wrinkles, but his hair showed but a scant few white strands amidst its light brown. His features held the same softness his granddaughter possessed, and he had the same peach-coloured eyes.

That was all she could actually consider before they were off with their drinks in hand; Compa's room was right behind the living room.

Its spaciousness was the first thing IF took note of. She did not dabble much in how much housing cost, but her original assumption of Compa being from an average family was immediately revised; her friend was at least upper middle class. This room alone was thrice the size of her own; on top of that, it was filled with various things from plushed toys to a wide TV on the wall.

"You have a nice room," IF could not help but comment while turning her head. Once she was done taking in the furniture, her gaze wandered to the walls; their cream-coloured tone was barely visible below an onslaught of posters, many of them depicting bands and idol groups. Most of those she did not recognise.

Impossible to oversee, however, were half a dozen images of Purple Heart herself; it was all the same shot, depicted from the waist up in a flowing blue dress. The ruler of Planeptune smiled down at IF from every wall, her expression filled with high expectation and a soothing note alike.

The brunette kept looking at her with a mixture of feelings she did not like; she faintly remembered Purple Heart from when she was a little girl.

It took her several seconds to get a grip and continue examining everything; if Compa noticed the pause, she did not say anything. Nonetheless, IF quickly searched for a distraction and soon found it on those very walls. "Is that 5pb.?"

Not that there was any mistaking her. A soft face framed by blue hair, her frame clad in black and purple with just a hint of skin visible where shirt and skirt met. She stood all alone amidst what was mostly groups, holding up her guitar.

The leanboxian idol's meteoric rise to the top was almost unmatched in its speed, having taken about a year. Now 5pb. was twenty years old and likely the most famous singer around the world. Her secret was none, too. With her together rose the interweaving of song and magic, yet none that tried could hope to match 5pb.'s genius.

To IF, who always liked to listen to music during her exercises, she was rather familiar. Ever since she picked up her first 5pb.-disk sixteen months earlier, at least half of her dedicated playlist consisted of this woman's songs.

Compa happily took her question and started talking, taking her through an experience similar to the previous day.

Some thirty minutes passed with idle chatting until IF made her first mistake of the day; she had been wondering about the topic before, but seeing how well-off her friend appeared only spiked the girl's curiousity. "I've been wondering, what are your parents doing for a living?"

The way Compa stilled immediately conveyed many things. Her gaze was lowered gently, then the girl shook her head twice. Words unspoken passed between them, injecting guilt into IF: she was not the only one who lost her parents early.

Then however, a weak voice interrupted her frantic search for a way to change the subject. "I... I'll tell you if you tell me about yours?" Compa appeared as insecure as she sounded, obviously unused to speaking about the matter.

In IF's mind, curiousity and decency held a short but bloody war over what to do, but were quickly forced to a compromise by the rest of her. "Only if you're really okay with talking about it. I won't force you."

The smile she got in response told IF she did the right thing. Compa took a deep breath, then closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know... are you okay with it?"

It was a good question, all things considered. IF had no idea how she would take talking about the matter. In the end, she figured she rather start instead. Compa was her first actual friend, so she really did not mind sharing with her. The brunette slowly sank to the ground and crossed her legs, eyes on her friend.

"I don't really remember much of it, I was four at the time. I know it was Lady Purple Sister's birthday, though." No one could forget such a date, after all. "We were out on a stroll in Virtua and got attacked by Monsters. No one near enough to help and too many to fight, especially with me there." Another wave of guilt rolled in, this one much different than the other. IF forced it away, she knew it was not her fault. "Most of this is from what other people told me. My mom ran away with me while dad held them up, and Lady Purple Heart even showed up to help. She wasn't fast enough for them, just for me... she's really the only thing I can still remember."

Something deep within her kept on throbbing as she spoke, but IF was overall fine. She would have expected it to hurt a lot more.

Meanwhile, Compa observed her with teary eyes, taking note of the slightest shaking in the brunette's shoulders. She could tell IF did not even realise it, with an inner strength Compa lacked. It was inspiring once again, bringing Compa to gather her courage and take over once her friend finished. "Eh, well... I guess yours is a little more impressive than mine, not that it's any better."

She immediately clamped down on herself for almost starting to ramble again, then continued after a pause. "I don't remember my mothers at all. You know how some lesbian couples have their children together?" It was not an uncommon practice for both sides to have each other's child at the same time, allowing for siblings of the same age without them having to be twins. "Well, that's what my mothers wanted to do, too..."

She trailed off, paused and frowned at herself for the lump in her throat. "They both died during childbirth. Grandpa took me in immediately and cared for me, so that's really the only big difference to you in the end."

IF kept quiet over that, considering her response before sighing. "That much bad luck is rare... what about your sibling?"

Again, Compa just shook her head. "Stillborn. I never even got to know my mothers or my sister... but it's been so long, I think the time helped me a bit. Grandpa took good care of me, too."

IF winced and lowered her head, unable to comprehend how much statistics alone had spit into her friend's face. With Planeptune's advances in technology, losing the mother during childbirth was barely even possible.

It took Compa a moment as she licked her lips, but then the girl weakly changed the topic; she was shaking quite a bit more than IF had before. "I have my uncle Jiro, too. Well... he's not really my uncle, just someone grandpa gets along so well with. He doesn't visit all that often, but he is really sweet."

The brunette just shook her head with a weak smile and wandered over to place a hand on Compa's shoulder. "Sorry to hear that... I guess we have something in common after all?"

Despite everything, the peach-haired girl barked out a laugh and covered the hand gratefully with her own. "You're horrible, Iffy..."

Afterward, the afternoon actually became rather pleasant to the girls as they forgot about that conversation. They played some of Compa's games, enjoying themselves and chatting about trivial matters. As much as IF usually disliked doing so, she did not mind the distraction for either of them.

In time, both of them would get to think about what the other said. Both of them would learn more about each other from that, their bond growing.


	6. Divine Interlude - Amidst Eternal Winter

_The Land of White Serenity is everything its name promises and more; even though only a native would remain comfortable staying outside for long, especially at night, Lowee is the most peaceful nation of the four in appearance. Loweean air, albeit cold, is clear and refreshing. The people might appear quite detached because few are seen outside in less than thick winter clothes, but they will always have a warm welcome for anyone who wants to withstand the cold and visit them._

-The Hitchhiker's Guide to Gamindustri, Volume 3: "Lowee"

* * *

A snowstorm was coming up, which would end the day's activities early in northern Lowee without doubt. It would cover everything, even the crater left behind by a lone figure roaming the frozen landscape. Its brown and grey form alone sullied the white blanket of innocence.

Blanc wondered whether she should suppress the storm for her citizens, but ultimately decided it was fine to let this happen once in a while; in addition, walking through this kind of weather was a feeling she rarely got to enjoy.

She was Lowee's White Heart, currently returning from the extermination of a swarm of Phoenixes. The avian monsters rarely appeared this far to the north, being more common in Leanbox and Lastation. On the other hand, Lowee had an overabundance of Dolphins and Whales in exchange.

The wind already began to pick up, curling her brown hair all around; she enjoyed the sensation, sighing in content over her tingling skin.

Either way, Blanc decided to call it a day and return home in a few hours; they were ahead on paperwork anyway, especially with Mina's contributions. The Nishizawa family's second daughter was more than just pulling her weight even though these were still her early years as Oracle. This was a great ease on the CPU herself, who could spend more time killing Monsters that way. Now she even managed to get herself some free time.

On the flipside, she knew, it was probably better not to leave Keiko unsupervised for too long. Her previous Oracle, despite being sent into retirement because she kept working too much at her old age, was still coming by to help out. She would definitely work overtime again if Blanc did not send her home.

Her feet carelessly pushed the snow aside without any trouble, the cold not much of a bother after all; she was still clad in a heavy coat, though mostly for the feeling of wearing something warm and fluffy. There was quite a bit of distance toward the next town and a small forest of pine trees stood close to where the goddess walked; they huddled around a set of hills that might protect them from the wind.

Amidst the calm thoughts of how to start her next manuscript however, something yellow caught her eye. At first Blanc assumed it to be a snowrose, knowing that those were in bloom at the moment.

Idling with the thought of plucking such a flower and wearing it in her hair for the time she spent here, the CPU turned her head; what she found, however, was not a flower. It was close to yellow in appearance only; strands of hair rolled in the wind around a person's head, who was collapsed on the ground face-down.

The brunette cursed under her breath and rushed over at speeds that sent the small layer of snow on the ground flying in all directions; all the while she called out to the human and quickly assessed the situation.

First of all, it was a girl. Maybe a young woman; the fact it was so easy to see was that she had neither a coat nor any kind of protection against the cold; she wore indoor clothes, a blue skirt and a light green shirt. Turning her around and checking her body revealed that the girl was unconcious, as well as freezing.

"Damn it... just what are you doing out here?!" Anger bubbled up from within Blanc, but she forced it back down and quickly lifted the petite frame in a princess carry. Flying to a hospital would probably take too long, so she had to stabilise her first. With a snowstorm coming up.

Forcing the storm away would not help in the slightest, though; Blanc just sighed and stomped down, having the earth around them convulse and form up into a hill around the two. Snow melted or was pushed away while the CPU's power formed a cave with a small entrance, big enough to move around in; however, she sealed the entrance shut with ice.

The only things she still needed now were more light and warmth, the former mostly for when her freezing charge came to. There was little else on her mind at the moment, she just split her attention between recycling the air within this enclosed space and warming it at the same time. At least this was no large area she had to keep under her control, or she might tire herself out.

Only half a minute had passed so far, so she made good time. Blanc allowed herself a small grin before gently putting her hands on the girl's mid-section, right below the breasts. Forcing a wave of healing magic, the CPU calmed herself. Her charge should be fine, even though the frostbite was nasty.

Once more, she cursed the fact she had no aptitude for healing magic. Every CPU could do some, but none of her generation possessed any significant healing capabilities. It was enough to treat basically any injury a human might have short of death, but that took time. Plus, the effects on CPUs were nonexistent. If Blanc ever got lucky enough to get a Candidate, she truly hoped for one with a healing aptitude.

The CPU shook her head and switched topics in her mind. She really did not expect her break to end like this, not even close. On the other hand, this was better than not finding the girl at all.

Her magic slowly worked through the frozen tissue and repaired what it could, but the aftereffects would probably still be uncomfortable; she treated frostbite quite often over the years, so Blanc knew that by heart.

Nonetheless, the immediate danger was soon over. A wave of relief surged through the brunette at the sight before she quickly warmed the air up some more; considering that the child's clothes were not as cold as the ground they sat on, taking them away would not help either.

With one last effort, Blanc hardened the ground below her charge and had it warm up as well, then she slumped backward and came to sit at the wall.

A few minutes later, she knew, and that girl would have been dead. Lowee's climate was harsh, so she wondered what in the world brought one of her people to run outside dressed like this.

Now that Blanc had time to take a closer look, she started by quickly checking the girl's pockets; nothing inside, she really only had what she wore on her person. The brunette wondered if maybe a carriage broke down, but discarded the idea. Such a thing would not happen in the middle of a snow field; not to mention that none of the few cities close enough together to keep streets aboveground were nearby. The next town lay a kilometre away and this girl was probably from there.

Aside from that, she appeared to be a pretty girl as well; even though her blonde hair was damp from lying in the snow and dissheveled, it did show signs of good care. The child was slender and sported a peaceful expression while asleep. Taller than Blanc herself and also a little bit above the average female citizen, if she saw that right. All in all, her age could be anywhere between sixteen and twenty.

Her appearance gave no indication for why this girl was out and about like this, outside of the protective walls. Blanc pondered the matter for several moments.

Then an idea formed and reared its ugly head, reminding the CPU of a problem her nation still faced. She carefully crouched forward and took off the girl's shirt to check her arms. Nothing. Nothing on her back, either; Blanc decided not to check other places and just assume it was not domestic abuse after all. It was a rare occurence anyway, especially with her bringing down the hammer on any offenders - sometimes literally, in the most horrendous cases.

In this case, the pun did not manage to tease a smile out of her. Abusive families were still the number one reason for frozen corpses to be found out in the wild. The very same thing that almost happened to this girl, had she not been around.

Blanc gently warmed the shirt with some more air before pulling it over the blonde's head again. She must be passed out from exhaustion, considering that all of this moving around and the sensation of magic flowing through her body did not wake her up.

After heaving another sigh, Blanc returned to the wall, head tilted to both keep an eye on her charge and on the small layer of ice separating them from the outside. A small mental snap made it flow around and become as clear as glass. Blanc passed the time looking outside, watching how snow and ice began to fall. The storm howling out there was just a dull roar inside, unable to get in no matter how much frozen water it threw against the barrier.

She was missing out on walking through the storm. It did not matter much, but the brunette was still a little disappointed. Her charge healed and would only need a check-up to make sure, so Blanc would have to wait for now.

**. .**

**. .**

She became a little bit restless after some hours had passed, but Blanc could cope with doing nothing quite well. Her cellphone was upgraded with Planeptunian tech, mostly because they simply had the best electronics imaginable; she needed to be reachable at any time, even in a storm such as this one.

However, the brunette held back on making any calls; she just sent a note back to Lowee Castle so no one would worry about where she went. The remainder of her time, Blanc spent creating the framework for her new story; doing something this dark was not what she usually did, but it was worth a try. Maybe this one would finally become good enough to be published.

When she noticed the little bit of daylight subsiding, the CPU got a fire going while opening up the ice; taking care of the smoke on top of keeping the air warm was just calling for it. The constant strain on her terraforming-abilities was already tiring and only centuries of experience kept her in a state to keep this up. As well as Lowee's high Share count, that was.

The storm was still going outside, though in the process of subsiding, when the girl stirred with a groan. Blanc was already by her side the moment her eyelids rolled open, blue eyes staring at the cave's ceiling without much comprehension; the CPU gently put an arm under her shoulders and helped her sit up while explaining: "I found you out there in the snowfield. You're safe now."

Her charge blinked a few times and turned to look at the storm roaring on the outside, still partly walled off with ice. There was a hole letting in cold air, but Blanc quickly converted it and kept the warmth inside as well as she could. It was probably warmer in here than a summer day in Leanbox, where most people did not even leave their homes to stay out of the sun.

"Um, I... I... oh heavens!" The whisper ended in an outcry while the girl grabbed onto Blanc and held on for dear life; probably the shock from realising what almost happened to her. The brunette got this kind of reaction before, so she knew just to hold her tightly until she calmed down a bit.

"Oh no, I never... I, I almost..."

"Shh, it's fine."

Blanc gently stroked her back, letting her cry it out and repeating what she said before when necessary; a minute or two passed and the girl soon calmed down. At that point, Blanc slowly stopped comforting the child and let go, holding her at arm's length. "What's your name?"

"F-Fina. T-Thank you for saving me, I am so glad..." She trailed off, but Blanc merely smiled and let go of her shoulders; this one took her situation better than a few others she saw. Fina herself took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, then her own lips curled into a bright smile. She once again looked at the brunette and bowed her head. "I mean it, I am incredibly grateful for what you did. Truly you must hold the Lady's blessings for such a kindness."

She just waved it off; anyone would have helped out when they found a person passed out like this. Even though it was a little bit amusing to be praised with her own blessing again. However, More important to Blanc right now was what brought the blonde out into the snow. "It's nothing, really. What were you doing out there in the snow to begin with? And in indoor clothes no less."

Fina looked herself over at that and, for some reason, blushed heavily. "Oh, uh... well, I kind of ran away without thinking straight." The girl lowered her gaze sheepishly, not meeting Blanc's confused expression. "You see, I was not in much luck up to now. I have two older siblings, so I can not inherit the family business. My grades in everything but math were just average, too. What I mean is, well, I always wanted to be an accountant and I got the math down for that, but... a boy my age from a well-off family was interested in me; mother pressed for me to accept his proposal, but I didn't want to... so..."

She stopped there, but this gave Blanc more than enough to work with. The brunette finished what the blonde left hanging in the room: "So you ran away?"

Fina just nodded sadly and pulled her legs up to her chin, a cold breeze from outside playing with her hair. "It is pathetic, really. I do not want to get married and stay at home. I do not like Koujiro that way to begin with, but all I managed was to almost die two or three hours after running off and now I'm bothering the nice girl who saved me with all of this. Ah, what would my Lady think of me?"

She started rambling at this point while Blanc thought about the problem at hand; it would not do to just bring this girl back home. Even though arranged marriages were legal in Lowee, it was unusual to do it like this. Either the family arranged something very early, when the child was around six to ten years old, or not at all. She also long since made forcing a child into an arranged marriage against their will illegal. Sadly, the border between nudging them to accept and forcing them was not very clear.

"Fina." The girl shut up in an instant and focussed her attention on Blanc, who looked back with interest. The flickering fire cast shadows over their faces. "How old are you?"

"Um, seventeen." So that was as expected; the CPU nodded once and decided to just do what she always did in a situation like this one. People in Lowee could go and live by themselves earlier if they had a valid reasoning, after all. Nonetheless, she should ask just to make sure. "You have no desire to marry that boy, so why not leave your home properly? You're old enough to live by yourself."

Fina shivered a little, whether from the question or from the air was unsure; she also lowered her gaze and looked as if she would break down in tears again. Then however, she spoke sadly and without ever looking at the brunette: "Mother only wants for me to be happy. She just does not believe in me is all. If I did that, it would break her heart and I do not want that... just what kind of daughter would want to hurt her parents like that?"

So the problem was not that the mother wanted to better her standing, but that she wanted a good future for her child too much? Of course, it was never easy. Blanc mulled this over; she already knew what she wanted to say, but Fina was currently a bit unstable and might not be happy to hear it. What was more, the silence between the two of them quickly became awkward. "You have to make that decision, though. Things rarely turn out perfect for everyone, but they won't get better for you if you don't try."

Both of them kept quiet again, the silence stretching while the fire slowly subsided; Blanc threw more of the wood she grew previously onto it. As the flames started to lick at their new fuel, a quiet grumbling could be heard and Fina clutched her stomach. "Uah, I'm hungry."

Blanc did not have any food with her. At least the storm was almost completely gone, so they could get going soon. "I will bring you back home in a few minutes." Still, this was no good for Blanc. She did not want to leave this girl to herself in such a situation; she should at least give her a proper choice here, not just between a predetermined path and a complete unknown. "If you feel like taking matters into your own hands, I can get you a job and a place to stay."

Now the blonde looked up in surprise, which made Blanc smirk a little; the shadows hid it from her charge, though. Of course she would look after them, that much was nothing.

"B-But... how can you say something like that? I mean I'm grateful, but shouldn't you ask your parents about something like that first?"

What was that cracking noise, Blanc wondered. Only to realise she still held a piece of wood a moment ago. Throwing the paste aside and against the wall, she scowled at the flinching girl. "I'm thirty freaking times older than you, so cut the crap!"

With how Fina looked like a deer in headlights, the CPU quickly reined in her boiling anger; snapping at Vert was okay, she could take it. Snapping at a child, or most any human for that matter, was not. Just why were there so many people thinking she was a kid?

"Th-Thirty... oh heavens!"

...

So much for not giving herself away.

While Blanc was still getting unhappy about what she just blurted out without thinking, Fina kneeled before her and quickly continued: "I-I'm so sorry, my Lady! I had no idea it was you and, and-"

"Enough." It never changed; not over all the generations she saw growing up, people still did this kind of thing the moment they found out. "I'm not mad at you, so stop that."

"Ah, of course. I, I'm, um..."

Blanc got to her feet with a suppressed sigh. She understood that most people were not really ready to talk to their Lady properly, but it was nonetheless annoying that anyone she just revealed herself to kept on stuttering. "Aside from that, I mean it. If you want to change your life, I can lend you a hand."

Fina stopped and stared with wide eyes while the CPU just rolled hers. "You're one of mine, a child of Lowee. So get back to your feet this instant." She did not raise her voice, but the blonde stood ramrod straight a moment later, as if she just screamed at her. Blanc smiled and held out a hand. "I ask again; do you want to live your own life, or what another believes is best?"

Fina lowered her gaze again, but then looked up with glistening eyes. "I want to be myself, I want it so very much. But... could you... could you maybe tell my mother? I'm sure she will be happy that way, so I have nothing to regret."

It was actually heartwarming to see such a caring daughter; whatever kind of woman gave birth to her must have been really lucky. "That's all you need? Fine with me."

They kept standing as they were for but a long moment; the smiling goddess and the flabbergasted human being; then Fina began to beam and happily took the offered hand.


	7. Never Walk Alone 1

_Fighting against the dark is not just a task for the goddesses. Every day, brave adventurers and hunters are pushing back the advance of the Deity of Sin; all the Monsters wandering Gamindustri are Hers by birth, created from the malevolence that is Her being. They haunt the world and will do so for all eternity, just as She will. _

_All those that feel the strength to fight can make a difference; with every Monster extinguished, She loses the tiniest fragment of strength. With every Monster slain, She will need more time to rise again. With every Monster destroyed, another day might be safe._

-Histoire

* * *

Almost two years have passed since we left off. It is now the year 510 of the planeptunian calendar, the first day of November.

IF turned sixteen the previous week, never having anticipated a twenty-sixth more than this one. Now, with the turn of a new month, her career as a Guild agent would officially begin.

The young woman had never once ceased in her exercises and practice, returning with light steps and boundless determination to succeed. Where she walked the corridors shily two years prior, now her stride was much more confident. Her increased ability was not the only reason for that, though.

After all, the first friendship she ever found was holding strong. Despite the fact they still found few hobbies to share, or IF's awkwardness around Compa's other friends during any gatherings, they got along as well as on the first day, if not better. Though, admittedly, IF would prefer if her friend held smaller birthday parties.

She shook off these thoughts upon reaching her destination, never even noticing the curious looks she got from time to time. Her youth was no longer as apparent, for she had grown almost a full head taller; some still took note of it as she walked past, having glimpsed the badge clipped to her collar. A purple background just like everyone else's, but sporting a silvery J that identified her as a junior member. She was young, yet obviously ready for whatever may come.

Once IF knocked and opened the door, she was greeted by an empty conference room. Mostly empty, that was; the Tome hovered toward its center, offering a gentle nod in greeting. "Miss Fontaine, wonderful. You are a little early, but that is fine. Please, take a seat." She motioned for the only table currently taken by someone else, someone who gave the girl pause.

Her first thought, despite of how alien it was for IF at this point, was that the girl was pretty. Her skin may have been sculpted for its lack of any impurity, with light purple, almost pink hair flowing around soft features like water. It was even just a little longer than her own, reaching slightly past the stranger's shoulder.

The girl wore a modified middle school uniform, white with purple hems and buttons; a big 'N' formed the center of its ribbon. Her shoulders were pulled in and she seemed to make herself smaller over the scrutinising gaze, yet her lilac eyes took in IFs appearance in a similar way. They shone with curiousity and intelligence, yet the girl did not meet IFs gaze while nervously adjusting her metal choker.

After a few moments that felt much longer, IF blinked and shook herself slightly. Then she offered the friendliest smile she had and a nod before sitting down with one seat between the two. Histoire took note, but did not comment on the matter. "I believe introductions are in order." She gently motioned for them. "As the only minors currently employed by the Guild, the two of you will be assigned to the same team. You are of the same age as well; Isabelle, Nepgear, I expect you to work hard and do your best."

They both nodded at once, though IF's thoughts were with the girl by her side. Nepgear appeared a little too young to be eighteen, so she already guessed her having a special license. The purplette's eyes were on her again, too. When IF turned her head to meet Nepgear's gaze, she was given a weak smile in return. That was enough for her.

"Now then," the Tome continued. Both girls turned back to her and found a pair of bracelets floating their way. "I took the liberty of preparing your trackers. Please wear them at all times you leave the city, as they allow us to locate and contact you at a moment's notice if necessary." She paused while both girls gently pulled the elastic material over their right hands. Once it came to rest on their wrists, the trackers pulled themselves taut.

These were one of the few marbles of Sharicite engineering that the Tome herself freely offered to any generation. The solid form of divine Share Energy could be sculpted into any shape at will by an experienced CPU, yet mistakes were easily horrifying in their consequences due to its potency. Just like the Share Crystals used to focus a deity's Share income for measurements, a tracker's core was created from Sharicite. It reacted to the energy released by a dying Monster and even allowed to identify the type.

These were the Guild's backbone, automatically noting any one agent's amount of monsters killed and having a bounty transferred to their accounts for each one. Civilians could rent them as well if they wanted to earn a little extra during their free time, though that came with a monthly fee.

Lastly, trackers had powerful communication devices installed, to be used only in emergencies; if someone was in trouble, they could call for help immediately. This fact alone was what Histoire did not mention out loud, for one of the main reasons it was installed into the design sat in front of her.

During her short lecture, the Tome took note of the fact IF was busy moving her hand this way and that, making sure that her new possession did not restrict her movability. The sight was encouraging, yet heartbreaking all the same. She adored the children that grew up to become warriors as much as she loathed the fact they were needed.

Once she was finished, Histoire motioned for the girls to stand. "Please head back to the first floor locker rooms. Your team is waiting for you there, three other members in total. Your main duties will be scouting and fast response. As most other teams are already on duty at this point of the day, you will have no trouble identifying them." Or rather, they would have no trouble identifying the girls; the thought went unsaid, though it was on all of their minds.

With a final mention of their timetables being sent via e-mail later, the Tome ushered her newest employees out of the door and saw them off.

She was the only one to notice the other observer thanks to her additional and improved senses. Nepgear could also tell for other reasons, but would know better than to turn around. IF had no idea, never once noticing the head being pulled back behind a corner; framed by the same lilac hair as her new colleague, yet somewhat more youthful and with a bright smile etched onto it.

At first there was a nervous kind of silence hanging over the two of them. IF pondered speaking up or waiting for Nepgear to do so, but every second they walked on made more clear that the first step was up to her. After half a corridor, she took a deep breath and began: "So we're partners for the time being. Its nice to meet you, I'm IF."

The purplette flinched almost imperceptibly when spoken to, but quickly got herself together and nodded in response. "Ah, yes. I'm Nepgear, it's a pleasure to meet you and to work with you." They awkwardly stopped for a moment to shake hands, both being surprised by the respective other's strong grip.

When they got going again, the tension had subsided somewhat. Nepgear moved a little less apprehensively while IF considered what to ask her about; the purplette was unlikely to speak up by herself, or so she reasoned. Much to her surprise, Nepgear _was_ the one to carry the conversation along. "So... why are you here?"

Her voice rang much softer than IF's own, a note of curiousity mixed with cautiousness; they were both trying to find out how far the other was comfortable with, in their own ways.

IF shrugged in response and dug her hands into her pockets. "It's what I wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I don't really have a reason, I just want to." Though she knew it was just part of the truth. That she wanted to save other children from ending up like her sounded like a bit much to tell a stranger, though. "What about you?"

"Oh, you know..." Nepgear started nervously, all the while poking her index fingers together. "I uh... I'm practicing for my actual job later. My big sister said the Guild is great for getting some combat experience in, so, um..."

"I see." IF really only said it to spare Nepgear from the embarassment. She was honestly curious how and why a girl as awkward as her had been forwarded to pass the examination, but figured she should not pry too much. The only other job she could think of that required this kind of experience was a combat teacher; which, IF admitted to herself, Nepgear might be more cut out for from what she showed thus far.

They soon reached their destination without any further conversation, having to ask for directions once after missing a sign. The room was almost empty save for a handful of people, three of which had their eyes on them the moment they entered. Dozens of lockers lined the walls, reminding IF that she got one of those reserved for herself as well.

Nepgear had already clamped up again, so the brunette took the lead and strolled toward the group that looked their way. Two men, one woman, all somewhere between their mid-twenties and early thirties. The badges pinned to their collars all had a D noted, marking their ranks.

What immediately caught IFs eye was the woman's tan; her skin almost matched her dark brown hair, being but a few shades lighter. Then her eyes were drawn to one of the men, who took a step toward them as they came close. Dark pink strands fell around a good-natured smile and big blue eyes, making him feel less overwhelming despite the fact he stood at almost two metres.

"You are our new reinforcements, I take it? Nice to meet you both, I am André." He shook their hands without ever breaking his smile, then motioned for the woman. "The lady is Alexis."

He got a raised eyebrow for some reason, then Alexis huffed and raised her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you girls. And yes, it's natural. I'm a born Leanboxian." The last part was directed at IF, who felt her cheeks heat up a little. She had been caught looking.

"And lastly," André continued, pointing at the redheaded man leaning at the wall. "This is Gabriel. Don't mind him being gruff, we-" "Always get the 'special' children." His features were a bit sharper and an unhappy look was thrown their way the moment he interrupted André. Then he pushed off the wall and came over to them.

"I will be honest," he started with a measuring glance. Nepgear wilted a little, though IF stood her ground without averting her gaze. "The three of us are some of the poor bastards that have to babysit special licence holders. We've had six of them in the last eight years, not counting you. Out of those, all but one were either pushovers or thought they could take the world."

IF felt a little angry at being treated like this for someone else's behaviour, but she could also understand why this would be concerning. Gabriel sized her up and sighed, some of the hard lines in his face vanishing as he did. "Don't get me wrong here. I _will_ give you the chance to prove me wrong; just don't expect me to come rushing in if you bite off more than you can chew."

"That's fair," IF conceded. A mixture of relief and apprehension flooded her system; though she was fighting an uphill battle, her teammate did not appear unreasonable. So she held out her hand with a nod. "I'm IF, this is Nepgear." He took it without hesitation before shaking hands with the purplette as well.

Alexis shook her head with obviously faked exasperation while André shrugged. "I'm sure they will do well," was all he said.

Once the introductions were over, Gabriel told them to find their own lockers; once that was done, they sat down at a table in the adjacent common room. Weapons were spread out and Alexis nodded to herself. "Looks like we're having a melee-focussed composition this time."

Next to IFs katars, Nepgear provided a one-handed sword. André had carefully placed a heavy metal club on the table while Gabriel crossed two shortswords in front of him. Alexis did the same with her daggers, but also produced a submachine gun.

Taking in the weaponry, IF felt it was time to note her own situation: "I'm actually planning to get myself a gun, too. I have the license already, but I don't have the money to buy one yet." That got her a few understanding nods, considering that the possession of a firearm was allowed only at age sixteen and higher.

"Sure thing," Gabriel told her before snapping his fingers and having bright light glide out of them, forming an orb that floated above the table. It cast weird shadows over their faces while he looked around. "What about magic? I'm the only one with some, but my light is pretty solid."

IF shook her head with a tinge of nervousity, though Nepgear took the attention off her with a nod. "Yes, actually. I have some potent healing magic."

"Ohh, nice!" That was Alexis, who started grinning from ear to ear. "A healer is always great."

IF found herself agreeing, albeit quietly. She could not even imagine what a catastrophy her early magic sessions would have been without her strong aptitude for healing magic. However, the attention on Nepgear made Gabriel speak up again with a look at her weapon. "Why do you leave one hand free? Fencing style?"

The purplette slowly shook her head and fingered her sword nervously. "Not really, um... I can grab it with both hands if I need more strength in my swings, but most of the time I use my off-hand to help move around."

"In a skirt?"

The question was asked drily, but IF immediately understood what he was asking about. An acrobatics- or agility-based style like her own could be rather flashy; in Nepgear's case, that would be true in more ways than just the one. The girl herself started to match hair and face in colour, though she quickly shook her head. "G-Goodness, no, uh... I'm wearing shorts underneath, don't worry."

"Ah, got it." Gabriel dropped the topic with that reassurance before turning to IF, measuring the brunette. "What about your coat? Won't that get in the way, or do you use it to carry equipment?"

IF for her part held onto the cloth from within her sleeves, unnoticed by anyone else. She liked the coat and would rather not take it off. "I practiced getting it off in one motion if I have to, but it's wide enough not to hinder me most of the time."

"And probably torn within the week," Alexis quipped from the side. The Leanboxian seemed more amused than anything else, though.

IF just shrugged at her. "I have a dozen of them." After all, she already had considered this particular problem. In the end, no matter what she wore, it would get torn sooner or later anyway. Alexis threw her an amused look, but kept from commenting further.

Gabriel just shrugged and went back on topic. "Whatever, that's almost it for the basics. Do you have ear protection?" His question visibly confused Nepgear, but IF just nodded and pulled out a pair of blue ear plugs. "Sure." She did learn how important those were for her hearing while studying to get that firearms license. Guns were _loud_.

"Oh, that. Just let me..." And the purplette started rummaging through her pockets before producing a similar pair. Gabriel nodded again while IF put the plugs in, his voice barely different even before the electronics came to life. "Good to know you have your basics covered. Now we're getting started on the job."

André rolled out a map of the capital and its surroundings, with Virtua Forest marked visibly. Gabriel continued: "For the time being, we are scouts. Our duty isn't extermination first and foremost, but keeping track of Monster movements. On top of that, our group is designated as fast response, too. If anyone nearby is in trouble and calls for help, it's our job to roll in and bail them out." He tapped the area of Virtua Forest. "That's where we're stationed. They send us to Virtua every time we get one of you."

IF nodded in understanding; she got the gist of it and was secretly a little relieved to get less dangerous work for a start. Histoire's words still echoed through her mind at times, reminding her not to try going too fast. Not that it made a difference, considering that IF already went above and beyond her peers. Though it would take her a few more years to realise this.

"Anyway," Alexis took over, "you two are minors, so you aren't going to work full shifts with us. Is it the usual deal, fourteen hours?" IF nodded again. She read in her contract that as a junior member, she would work fourteen hours per week. To be allocated as she saw fit. Ten Credits per hour sounded good to her as well, being a little above the minimum wage.

Nepgear gave the same response, which was followed by the other three exchanging glances. André shrugged and Gabriel did the same after a second or two. Then the redhead adressed them a moment later: "That's it, really. Any questions?" Two headshakes. "Okay. We've still got... a few minutes before we _have_ to get going, they gave us a halved shift today to fill you in. Anything outside of work you want to ask questions about?"

IF did not really feel like she _should_ ask any personal questions, even though it was basically an invitation. Nepgear seemed to think the same, considering she seemed to wilt a little closer to the brunette. Then she perked up, though. "Oh, right. Alexis said she is leanboxian... uh, what about everyone else?"

The older woman smiled over that while the men simply shrugged, not even surprised. ""Planeptune,"" they said in an almost perfect unison that made IF suspect they were used to the question. She herself added a quick "Same" and eyed the purplette, who confirmed that she was planeptunian as well.

Then a question of her own wormed its way back to the forefront of her mind, so she turned to her fellow teen. "You said your sister suggested the Guild to you?"

Nepgear fidgeted a little before nodding, though she had grown less tense already. Before she could say anything though, Alexis threw her a wink. "She a beauty like you?"

Her transition from girl to tomato was rather visible, accompanied by confused noises and succeeded by embarassed silence. Then Nepgear nodded again, eyes on the table. Looking at her once more, IF could not disagree. She read the term 'legs for days' on the internet before, but this girl was the first to actually impress its actual meaning into her. And that was on top of everything else.

Shaking off those thoughts, IF stopped staring. Alexis thankfully took all attention off of her, so nobody noticed. The older brunette held a mischievous smile as she leaned closer to Nepgear. "So what's she doing? Care to introduce me?"

The purplette continued to avert her eyes, mumbling almost inaudibly: "I-Inquisition."

It took only this one word to wipe the smile off of Alexis' face. She sat back down with a sigh. "Oh. Sorry."

IF was surprised as well; she had not expected the planeptunian inquisition, but she knew not to ask. These people were supposed to keep their work a secret so they could investigate cases of corruption and the like more easily. Asking Nepgear anything at all would risk her sister's job.

"Well," Gabriel broke the awkward silence a moment later. "I guess we should leave it here. Let's head out and see how you two keep up." Nobody disagreed, so they all packed up and got going.

IF learned many lessons that day. Yet the most important of them would be that work, any work, is not always exciting.


	8. Never Walk Alone 2

_Your rank denotes the Guild's assessment of your experience, general capability, and combat ability. Higher ranks will receive more dangerous tasks, but also higher pay. The ranks are, in ascending order:_

_J (Junior Member, set while younger than 18)_

_F_

_E_

_D_

_C_

_B_

_A_

_S_

-Guild Agent Handbook, Introduction

* * *

"It was actually pretty boring," IF closed her recounting. "We walked around Virtua, kept an eye out for traces and killed a few Dogoos. That's it."

She had expected it to be underwhelming, but not to this extent. Everyone knew Monsters could not spawn near humans, the occasional oddities excluded. It still irked her that the worst she had seen were blue blobs with cutesy animal faces.

Compa, who walked by her side, was intrigued nonetheless. She listened with rapt attention to any little detail the brunette offered. What felt like little more than a long stroll to one girl, the other saw as the beginning of a great adventure. "I'm sure there will be a lot of interesting things happening soon!"

Seeing how excited her friend was, IF could not bear being realistic about the matter. She just smiled to herself and turned her attention back to the street. "I guess."

"So, this girl, uh..." "Nepgear?" "Ah, yes, her! What is she like?" Compa sounded eager to hear about the purplette, possibly because IF only talked about her briefly. The peach-haired girl was surprised to hear there was someone their age beside IF, but happy about the chance for her friend to make a new friend.

IF did not respond at once, taking a few seconds to mull over what to say; Nepgear and her only spent a scant few hours together so far, most of it focussed on their respective tasks.

That was when Compa stumbled and fell with a startled sound. IF quickly came back from her musings, but failed to catch the other girl. "Hey, are you okay?" Her question was mostly instinctive, though Compa grimaced in response and looked down at the hand she tried to catch her fall with. From her position, IF could see that she scraped it rather badly; slight traces of red tinged it.

"Ouchie, that's worse than usual." Compa did not sound too hurt about it, more annoyed for some reason. The aspiring nurse sighed and let IF help her up, then she looked back down at her hand; a faint green shine enveloped the palm, quickly knitting the skin back together.

Once this light died down, the people nearby stopped watching. Everything was visibly fine, so neither of the girls needed any help. Not that IF noticed, her attention was mostly on the hand Compa had just returned to pristine condition. "You're a mage?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." It had never come up over the years, yet Compa appeared a little sheepish about not having said anything. "I'm pretty average, though. My affinity is healing magic, so I'm really good with little cuts and scrapes and stuff. I can do the others too, but I'm... not really good at anything except ice." The smaller girl created a small orb of flickering light on her fingertip for emphasis; it sputtered out after a few seconds.

This was still much more than IF herself dared to do, though she could understand the sentiment. She nodded and changed the topic as they got back to walking, their target being the mall. "I see. Nepgear is a healing mage, too. I haven't seen her do anything yet, but she said hers was pretty strong."

Her friend's lips formed an O for a moment, then curled into the familiar smile. "She sounds nice, now I _have_ to meet her."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," IF warned with a light frown. "I think she's pretty anxious, so I can't just go ask to hang out with her." She had considered, but they only knew each other for a day now. IF planned to give Nepgear some time to get used to her.

Then, just as they turned the corner toward the mall, she spied a familiar curl of lilac in a shop lining the street. Pink hair was common in Planeptune and she was used to it from being around Mari. Although light purple tones were not all that rare either, something made her pay attention to this one. It took little more than a second glance to be sure this was indeed Nepgear, considering she wore the same uniform as the day before.

IF slowed down and stopped to take in what she saw, with Compa doing the same while following her gaze. The purplette was busy going through a number of circuit boards on display, moving quickly from one case to the next. Her back was turned most of the time, but she turned sideways and revealed her profile to the watching girls for a few seconds; there was a joyful grin etched onto her face.

"Is... is that her?" Compa sounded as confused as IF felt, though she knew that kind of thing was not too weird. Everyone had their hobbies.

Although, she admitted, she did not take Nepgear for the kind of girl that liked to play with electronics. With how well-maintained her appearance was, she put her a little further into the category of people who wasted way too much time on it. Which was not the kind of person she usually got along with, though Nepgear was _also_ good enough to be an agent at sixteen.

Her train of thought stopped there, seeing that Nepgear had made a full turn now. Her eyes were on them immediately, once again adopting the deer-in-headlights feel they displayed the previous day. At least IF thought so for a moment, because that was how long it lasted before being wiped away; the brunette raised her hand in greeting, which the purplette returned immediately.

It was an awkward situation indeed, though no one but them took note of it. Nepgear quickly motioned for them to wait and darted away, before emerging a few minutes later with a little bag. She fidgeted a little while walking up to where they were waiting, but IF doubted that Compa even noticed. Her friend was already beaming.

"I, uh, didn't really expect to meet you this early. Hello, IF. And...?" "I'm Compa! You must be Nepgear, right?" "...yes?" Compa excitedly shook the other girl's hand while IF threw her an apologeptic look. Nepgear appeared a little overwhelmed, so she decided to try helping. "I didn't expect you to be into electronics."

"Huh?" The lost gaze she got in response confused IF. "Why not? That's a pretty normal hobby, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's just..." She already hated herself for having said anything. Instead of responding, she just made a vague motion toward her colleague. Compa took over from there, though her words made the brunette's ears heat up: "Oh, she means because you're so pretty and all. I mean, I get it, most girls who like tech-stuff look a little more rough or don't care all that much, so-"

As Compa went on, Nepgear herself just looked down at herself and then took a step aside to be in front of the window again. Her reflection appeared as lost as herself while she took in how she looked. IF did notice the faint blush all over her face, but refrained from commenting.

"W-Well," the purplette finally interjected once Compa paused, "I actually liked tinkering since I was little. Machines are fun. But anyway, what are you doing today? I'm pretty sure school didn't let out yet." There were only very few students on the streets around them, after all. IF glanced around before shrugging and accepting the distraction. "Our last class for the day was cancelled, so we got out early."

"Ohh!"

"What about you, Nepgear?" Compa's question made the other girl blink, then she seemed to grasp what was asked.

"Ah, right. I'm homeschooled and my schedule varies a little. Sis told me that store had a new batch of parts coming in, so I wanted to do some shopping before we head out later."

IF quickly interfered with Compa's cheerful questioning here, else it would have gone on for a while. "We were on the way to the mall to get some lunch. Do you want to come?" She did not even need to ask her friend if it was okay; Compa loved meeting new people.

Nepgear for her part appeared somewhat flabbergasted, though it took only a moment until her expression transformed into a grateful smile. "Oh, if that's okay? I'd love to."

**::**

"So," Compa restarted the conversation once they all placed their orders and took a seat. "Iffy and I were talking earlier and she said you're a mage?" She waited for the purplette to nod, then continued with delight. "Really? What's your SP? I'm at three forty-two."

Spellpower, IF noted to herself, the quantification of magical energy a person could store. Any Basilicom had Sharicite-based equipment to measure a given person's SP. She also read that the most common amount was between 240 and 360, averaging out at three hundred.

Nepgear tapped her fingertips together and fidgeted a little before giving in to Compa's hopeful smile. "Um... a bit above a thousand?" To IF, this meant she was already in the category of gifted mages. She did not consider to ask how much 'a bit' was.

"Wow, that's a lot! And you have a healing affinity like me, right?"

"Uh, yes. Um..." Nepgear hesitated with another glance at IF, then sighed and lowered her head. "I have fire, too."

Now she had IF's attention; having two affinities was rare. She quickly ignored the voice whispering that she herself had three, fast enough to catch another amazed sound from her friend. "Ohh! Um, actually... how do you find out you have more than one affinity? I don't really get how that works."

This time the brunette answered, seeing that she read up on the topic and brought personal experience. "It's like with the first one. If you just use magic without turning it into anything, it can turn into any element you have the affinity for." She thought for a moment, then went with the first example she could think of. "With Nepgear, hers would turn into healing half the time, and the other half is fire. Statistically, that is... I read some reports of mages who didn't find out about their second affinity for decades."

IF stopped when she felt their surprised gazes on her, to which she blushed a little and averted her own. "Stop looking like that, I just did some research because I was curious."

"Iffy knows so much!" Compa only appeared excited like usual now. Though for some reason, Nepgear started giggling a moment later. She hid her mouth behind a lithe hand, the gentle laughter making both of them wonder what this was about.

"Ehehehe... Iffy..."

So there it was. IF quietly hid her face in her hands while their food was served.

**. .**

**. .**

They got along quite well, all things considered; a week went by since their first meeting and Nepgear had quickly warmed up to Compa. The purplette quite liked her goal of becoming a nurse when it was brought up. Thanks to Compa, IF and Nepgear had actually thought to exchange numbers. Neither of them did it all that often, so the idea slipped their minds.

"I was wondering," Alexis broke the quiet the team had descended into. Her eyes were firmly on Nepgear and IF, though she paid attention to her surroundings as well. "Mid-term exams are soon, aren't they? How do you juggle your studies with work and everything else?"

The brunette shrugged. "Eh, I can just shave off some time from my exercises if I need more to study, but I should be good." Between Compa and Nepgear, she still had enough time to read a book at times or do something else to relax.

The purplette just deflated a little before poking her index fingers together again. "I, uh, I'm homeschooled, so I don't really have mid-terms. My tutor does expect a lot from me, though. But that's normal for me, no real change there."

"Is that so? Interesting. Say, IF, how much time could you 'shave off' from your training?" Alexis appeared genuinely curious, so the younger brunette decided to indulge her.

"If I don't do anything at all, I get... about four and a half hours a day, I think."

"You what?!" The men, who had been ahead of them so far, both turned their heads while Alexis' gaze bored into IF's eyes.

The brunette just raised an eyebrow. "That's with preparing myself and all, I do exercise four hours and three minutes per day."

It took a moment until the older woman stopped working her jaw; once she did, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not sure I believe you. That's insane at sixteen, or any age really."

Even though André and Gabriel had already turned back around, IF could tell they were still listening. She just shrugged again, knowing that doing this much was normal for her. "I started small when I was young and slowly ramped it up. At ten it was an hour per day. I have been adding three minutes per month since then, with two months off each year, that's half an hour per year. I'll probably stop once I hit eighteen."

Alexis continued muttering about this under her breath, but she did not say anything else. Nepgear just shrugged when IF looked her way. "Why don't you add another three in these two months each year?"

She shrugged back. "Thirty minutes sounds better than thirty six, that way I'll land at exactly five hours at eighteen."

Like this, they fell back into their usual quiet concentration. One of the older members would point out less visible tracks or other clues once in a while, which the two girls quickly took note of. Neither of them had given Gabriel cause for complaint so far. Granted, there had been no real battle to test their resolve, either.

They were quite far out this day. Despite it being the middle of November, surprisingly many trees outside of Virtua Forest's safe zone still displayed their leaves. Pine trees in particular worked with the remaining foliage to create a dim twilight, despite it still being at least an hour until dawn.

Wolves howled somewhere ahead, the noise telling them that these Monsters were not far away anymore. It grated on IF's nerves a little, but she refused to let something like this bother her. She slowly double-checked her katars' straps to make sure her previous blunder would not repeat itself. Then she snapped up a hand and cut a mosquito in half, the bothersome insect having sirred close by her ear.

"I heard there are lots of mosquitos in forested areas," she started. Gabriel snorted in response, but she pre-empted him before he could even turn around. "I know it's close to Winter, but I haven't seen many in Virtua at all during summer, either. There is a lot more in the city."

"Ah, that thing." André chuckled a little before motioning with his club; the weapon pointed at a Dogoo wiggling about in the distance. "That's one thing those little pests are good for. Mosquitos sit on them and get eaten a lot, so you won't find as many of them outside."

IF made an understanding noise, then silence blanketed them all again. All to be heard was the soft noises of boots on untreaded ground, the occasional cracking of a treebranch, and sounds of monsters in the distance. Nothing happened for a while.

Until the wind turned.

Within moments, the howling intensified and Gabriel started cursing under his breath. The redhead stopped in his tracks and everyone else fanned out. "Damn, we're too close! Get ready!"

Nepgear was in the front immediately, taking point together with André; IF just fell back a few more steps while Gabriel did the same, bringing their team's sole mage and gunslinger into the center. If any Monster snuck around their first line, it was IF's duty to keep them off her team.

They only had about that long before half a dozen Wolves broke through the fading underbrush; their purplish blue fur stood out against their surroundings, having never been meant as camouflage anyway. Each of the creatures stood a metre tall and rushed into the fray, growling as they went.

The first one did not even see what hit it, its head coming off cleanly while Nepgear rotated away; IF's eyebrows rose in shock at the sheer speed displayed. While she returned to focus on her task, André's club smashed into the second Monster's head and the next two were cut down by a hail of bullets, courtesy of Alexis. All of them exploded into bright particles.

Then she spotted one more Wolf halfway around the group, a quick glance to the other side revealing two more. IF knew she could not get all of them, so she did the next best thing. "Two to your right!" After shouting the warning, she took off at the sole monster trying to circle left.

Everything felt so slow in these moments, from her own body to everyone else. IF's heart beat fast and strong as she propelled herself forward, the Wolf turning to meet her gaze. It jumped the moment their eyes met, but the brunette stepped aside in time. She made a half turn to face the same way, then rushed her right blade forward and into its neck as it passed.

Sharp steel cut through a thick hide, strings of muscles and even the spine, doing the same on the other side and severing this head as cleanly as Nepgear had done just a few seconds before. The Wolf did not even know what hit it when it vanished in motes of bright light.

IF turned back after a quick glance around, only to find their front line done and one Monster at the flank being skewered by three spears of light. The other one used the moment to rush in and jump at Alexis; it barrelled the older brunette over by the time Gabriel made his magic spears turn to their next target.

She considered jumping in, but instead gave the Wolf a kick into its jaw when it came close to her. The disorientation was enough to keep it in place for a moment, enough time for Gabriel to skewer it.

Nepgear rushed over to Alexis the moment the last Monster died while André kept guarding in the front, just in case there were more. IF and Gabriel did the same to the side, shielding their injured ally.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Though the woman herself did not seem to agree on needing aid.

With a hand on Alexis' collarbone, Nepgear began to emit a gentle green glow; it seeped into her patient's skin and flooded her body. Then the purplette nodded. "You're right, nothing is broken or torn... okay, I guess." She let go and both of them got up from their sitting positions.

Meanwhile, Gabriel wandered over to IF with an unreadable expression. He kept quiet for a moment, making the girl wonder what she did wrong. When he spoke, his voice was quiet: "You know, for a moment I really thought I'd have to chew you out for jumping in my line of fire. Good thing you didn't. Oh, and nice kick you gave it there."

Then he lightly clapped her shoulder and wandered off, leaving a confused IF behind. Her cheeks turned a faint pink under the partially hidden praise, but she shook that off quickly and focussed. The slight upward curl of the lips would remain for the day, though.

With everyone in good health, they quickly got going again. Back to the lighter area, where they were actually supposed to patrol. IF kept thinking while the adrenaline gradually left her bloodstream, allowing her to stop shaking after a while.

She wondered why this encounter felt so _easy_. They were outmatched two to one and Wolves, while not particularly powerful, were no enemies to scoff at. Then again, her team had a plan and competent people carrying it out. Perhaps that made the difference.

Nonetheless, IF felt exhilarated by her personal success; she had practiced all of her basic stances and movements, a hundred sequences for each and every one per week, for the past four years. This was the first time she ever got to use them on a Monster, yet her body moved without any concious thought behind it. She could have missed the neck easily, but it worked out.

This meant that all her practice was finally paying off. Her judgement appeared to be good as well; she managed not to get in anyone's way, if just barely this time.

On the way, Alexis came up and gave her a pat on the shoulder as well. "Good work. That was your first real fight, but things get easier after a few weeks."

The brunettes nodded at each other with faint smiles, then IF sighed. "Yeah, I will need a bit to get used to this."

They both knew it would not take long for that to happen, not in their line of work.


	9. Never Walk Alone 3

_As Gamindustri's largest organisation outside of its nations, the Guild is an international institution. Each nation's Oracle serves as the head of their branch to promote equal treatment, while also allowing for fast movement of agents throughout the world in case of emergencies. _

-Guild Handbook, Structure

* * *

November passed into December without anything out of the ordinary happening. IF was already used to her work, the infrequent battles doing their part on that matter. At this very moment however, she was just cold. Temperatures were now regularly dropping below the freezing point.

Naturally, this did not stop them from going out. Neither of them could wear much thicker clothes if they did not want to compromise their mobility. IF was better off than André and Alexis, though; those two were even shaking a little, the leanboxian woman doing so despite wearing tights and anything else she could get away with. Nepgear, clad in no more than her usual clothes, did not seem to mind.

And Gabriel, of course, was smirking at them from beneath a thin sheen of fire. It was barely visible beyond the steam it produced where snowflakes hit, laying around his body to keep him warm.

"Mages are unfair," she heard Alexis whisper to André, who chuckled in response. The cold did not get to his good mood at least.

Gabriel apparently heard them as well, seeing that he snorted in Alexis' direction. "You say that every year. Any Loweean would still run around in shorts and a shirt."

Nepgear was the only one giggling about his exaggeration; IF noticed how she really did not seem to care about the cold despite the goosebumps it send down her own legs. The brunette knew she was not that bad with low temperatures herself, so she attributed it to her new friend using some more sophisticated means of keeping warm than Gabriel was.

Indeed, they had become fast friends over the last weeks. Nepgear slowly managed to leave her shell around IF and Compa as well. She was surprisingly knowledgeable about all kinds of technology and even helped her decide on what kind of gun to buy; a nice and reliable pistol now waited in its holster at IF's hip. The purplette even modified its hilt to fit her hand perfectly.

A Wolf's howl pulled IF out of her own mind, making her focus again. With no actual task at hand, she ended up thinking too much at times. This day their duty was to patrol a marked area near the tourist spots, killing anything that entered but not pursuing.

It was slow going.

After a while of wandering around, IF sighed and turned her head. Almost invisible through the snow, Nicos' downtown area reached for the sky not too far in the distance. It was hardly visible without direct sunlight to light it up. "Will all of our patrols be so close to the city?" She did not particularly mind, but the brunette took note of it; aside from one or two pursuits into deeper parts of the forest, they had never once left the safe zone.

"Yes, for now," André told her after turning his head in the same direction. Then he pointed over his shoulder at Nepgear, who blinked their way. "It's because of you two, actually. They won't just throw you into the thick of it. From how this usually goes... I'd say we will be here for at least another six months, then it gets deeper into the forest and on actual hunts."

Both girls made understanding noises and IF dropped the matter. She might have felt not taken seriously if she had known before, but it was still hard work.

"That aside," Gabriel chimed in from the other side, "they check the actually dangerous hotspots with drones."

That was news to her. IF never really found anything on how these things worked in detail; the few searches she made on the topic yielded little concrete data, too. "I didn't know they use Bits." The ball-shaped Bit drone was Planeptune's most common model, mainly used to patrol railways and other large stretches of land.

"Nah, they don't use Bits. Or any autonomous drones, really." Gabriel shook his head and explained: "The Guild has many operators for that kind of task alone. You wouldn't want the stuff you send out to suddenly join a dangerous Monster instead of reporting it, right?"

It made sense to IF, who felt a little awkward in receiving that lecture. In hindsight, she should have guessed it right away. "Yeah, that makes sense." All autonomous machines more sophisticated than some mechanised arms in a factory eventually lost control. Everyone knew that the Deity of Sin's malicious influence could somehow distort their code. The sole exception to this day was Maker Steamax, Planeptune's first and only fully sapient android.

From the looks on her colleagues' faces, their thoughts were with the Deity of Sin as well; the eternal scourge of Gamindustri, whose spawn they fought day by day.

"That reminds me, have you heard of the heroine's curse?" Alexis looked between IF and Nepgear while the men groaned in unison.

"Don't answer," André dictated them with a pained expression. "It's her favourite conspiracy-" "-and we heard it much too often already," Gabriel finished. Alexis only pouted at them while IF considered.

However, it was the purplette by her side who spoke up first. "Um... I can't say I ever heard about this before. But I _am_ curious..." She continued to fidget and failed to meet Gabriel's eyes, who sighed and dropped the act.

IF only barely managed not to make a face at the situation and gave her friend a light pat on the shoulder. "I saw it mentioned before, but never looked into it. What's it about, Alexis?"

With Nepgear saved, she focussed on the older brunette. Alexis smiled and gave her a grateful nod. "So, see, we have _tons_ of names all throughout the world. There is really no limit to it all. But somehow, all children given one particular name all die early. And I mean _really_ early, most often before their first birthday."

IF was suddenly no longer sure she liked where this was going; it was morbid and sounded absurd. Alexis either did not notice the slight frown making its way on her face, or ignored it. "No one really knows why, but secure sources confirmed that every child with that name dies. There is no other connection, it doesn't matter where they live, which time of the year they are born, what genders their parents are, nothing. Their names are the only thing they have in common.

"So the theory goes that there is something that kills these children and makes it look like perfectly normal accidents. Because come on, _all_ of them dying makes no sense. If there was nothing unusual about the matter, at least one or two should be alive and grown up."

Alexis paused for a moment to take a deep breath. IF and Nepgear exchanged glances, neither of them all that happy with the topic anymore. Gabriel and André just shrugged.

"So," the older brunette continued without paying any mind to them, "what kind of things do we have out there that could do that? I mean sure, the CPUs and Histoire might be able to do it, but why would they? And the only other thing we know is... Her. So She must be the one doing this." She did not say the name, but everyone knew she meant the Deity of Sin.

"But why would She do that?" Nepgear was first in voicing the question, though IF thought the same thing.

Going by Alexis' smirk, that was exactly what she expected. "You see, we can't know for sure. _But_ if She can do it to some people, She could do it to others, too. Why that name in particular? The theory is that it's the name of an old heroine who messed up Her plans, no idea if she was a goddess or a human. Someone She hates so much She'd prevent anyone from ever having the same name again."

IF barely suppressed a sigh, mainly because she could see this making sense in a way. She was not sure what she felt about the matter, but planned to look this up.

"You still don't know if every girl really was on record," Gabriel chimed in with a roll of his eyes.

Alexis only smirked back and raised a finger. "Really? I got the chance to ask Lady Histoire about it a few weeks ago." She visibly enjoyed everyones' gobsmacked expressions over giving out the new information. "I asked her if it's true that every child with that name died as a toddler or infant. She said yes."

And now IF knew she did not have to look this up. No one lied about an answer the Tome had given, or the question asked. Yet there was one question she still had: "Okay, but what _is_ the name?" The older brunette had not mentioned it once during her tangent.

Alexis frowned for a moment and measured both girls. Then she nodded at herself for some reason. "The last piece of evidence. Arfoire."

As she spoke the name, a shudder ran through all of them. For but an instant, they _knew_ something abominable had looked their way. A gaze they could not even comprehend brushed through their very souls.

IF understood. If it had been just her, she could have brushed it off. But all of them having the same reaction was too much to be a coincidence. This name could gather the Deity of Sin's attention.

They all stood around in a heavy silence for a bit. Alexis coughed and changed the topic with a wince, which IF was thankful for. "So, uh, how's school going? Your winter break starts soon, right?"

The younger brunette nodded slowly and brought her mind back to the upcoming break. "It's still half a month, but yes." Another thought made her throw a glance at Nepgear. "What about you? Any changes on your end over the break?"

Her friend nodded in turn, a weak smile making its way on the purplette's face. "My workload gets halved over the break. It's nice to have some more time to spend." IF immediately felt sympathy for the other girl; holidays were really the only times she could spend with friends, considering how much of her schooldays was taken up by exercises and now work. Nepgear's tutor appeared rather strict from what she mentioned.

"Heh, the struggles of a rich girl," Alexis commented with a wink. Nepgear immediately shook her head.

"Ah, I wouldn't say we are rich... sis just wants me to learn a lot is all." She did not elaborate and neither of them asked; Nepgear had a weird home life, they all knew that much.

"Hey look, a distraction!" All eyes wandered to André, who pointed to the side, at a larger group of Dogoos hopping along a few dozen metres away. His toothy grin was soon matched by everyone else; nobody complained.

Gabriel took in the group's size for a moment, then he pointed at André, Alexis, and IF. "Okay, that's a few too many to just stomp on, they might merge. You three break them up by luring them in different directions, Nepgear and I shoot them down." Everyone nodded and they immediately went. IF noticed a few red Dogoos among the mass of blue slimes, but paid them little attention. None of them had any metal colours, so it was fine.

Looking back, she noticed orbs of light and fire orbiting Gabriel and Nepgear respectively. They began to shape into tiny spears as she watched, the two mages conversing in hushed voices. Her other teammates were almost in position, the three of them forming a rough triangle around the dozens of Monsters.

Then, once she got a nod from André and Alexis each, IF stepped forward and kicked a rock to get their attention. The others did similarly, making parts of the bunch turn toward them instead. The Dogoos snuffled, but started to hop their way quickly. Their bouncing advance remained slow but steady, about half of the whole group following IF and a rough fourth each after her allies.

While slowly backing up to stay separate from the Monsters, she idled with the thought of just burning them all in one blaze. IF knew she could do that easily, but it was no more than musing on her part in the end. During her pondering, the brunette almost missed the slaughter; a dozen lances crashed into the Dogoos, leaving gaping holes in the Monsters for a moment before they exploded into light. Aside from one of the light versions, all projectiles made fluid turns and came back for most of the rest before it could do more than bounce in surprise.

After the third time, there were no more Dogoos near IF.

While the mages moved over to freeing up the others however, she noticed something lying on the ground. A somewhat fatter Dogoo had died there with the third volley.

IF slowly wandered closer and got down on one knee, her throat constricting to the point she could barely breathe. When the splintering sound of dying Monsters subsided for the last time, she forced the nausea away and took a deep breath. "Gabriel? Take a look at this." Her voice remained calm, though even the girl herself could hear the faint shiver in it.

The others were with her quickly, looking down at the partly dissolved clothes with a mixture of horror and understanding. Child-sized.

Alexis quickly ushered her up and away while Gabriel took IF's previous position. André thoughtfully blocked Nepgear's sight, though the purplette had already averted her gaze. She was looking between Gabriel's and IF's backs, her gentle expression replaced by one of sorrow.

IF felt like throwing up. Her stomach churned and _something_ was rising up. She forced it back down and took another deep breath, eyes closed and fists clenched. Alexis kept an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, that's the ugly part of the job." She could feel IF tense up, then relax. The girl took this much better than she herself had the first time.

"Found her," Gabriel noted after some time. He held his tablet pc in one hand, the Guild's database of missing people displayed; his expression was grim. "She was reported missing yesterday, four years old. I'm going to call in now." Nobody stopped him.

IF slowly managed to unclench her fists, noticing the fact she cut herself with her nails for the first time. Nepgear quickly took care of her, probably grateful for the distraction.

They had to wait but five minutes until a small hovercraft homed in on them, landing nearby and letting out a man in specialist uniform. He quickly took their recounting of events and carefully placed the recovered clothes in a container, then thanked them before flying off again. During those minutes, IF remained seated where she was on a bare root, snow gathering on her head almost as fast as it could melt.

She had never stopped to consider how this would affect others. Even if she admitted to herself part of the reason was that others should not end up like her, IF knew it was mainly for herself. She did not want to be weak.

Today was the first day she truly understood that even with all the strength she acquired, those around her were no stronger for it. This child was no one she knew, but it could have easily been; it could have been Compa, too. A deep cold emerged from somewhere deep within at that thought.

Nepgear, seeing her friend's distress, excused herself quietly and went off into the forest, stomping a lone Dogoo underfoot as she went. No one stopped her, thus no one saw her determined expression. Once she was out of hearing range, the purplette flipped open her phone and speed-dialed the one person she could ask for advice.

It felt much longer to Nepgear, but her phone had only rung once before the call was picked up. "Did something happen?" Her usually chipper sister sounded more serious at this moment, leaving out much of her usual cheer; they both knew Nepgear did not call during work except in emergencies.

A quick explanation later, the girl anxiously waited for her sibling's response. She had no idea what to do to make IF feel better, but she knew she hated seeing her like this.

Neptune's answer came softly, understanding. "There's not much you can do. 'Be there for her' is the best I can tell you. But you're a smart girl, and a sweet one. You'll figure it out from there. Now shoo, go back."

The last part came with more cheer, which made the younger sister giggle. "Okay!"

With her own spirits lifted for the moment, Nepgear ended the call and went back around the time the specialists took off again. With IF still sitting, she made her way over and offered a hand to help her up.

It took a moment for the brunette to notice the gesture, but she took it nonetheless. Nepgear easily lifted her off the ground and to her feet; then she gave her friend's hand a little squeeze before letting go. IF's eyes widened the smallest bit, but she cracked a weak smile in response.

"Um... do you need a...?" She felt a little sheepish having to ask, but offered her handkerchief nonetheless. IF appeared to consider her question for a moment, but shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

They were interrupted by Gabriel, who had an eye on his wristwatch. "We're about done anyway, let's head back." He looked around for disagreement, but no one spoke up. So he pointed toward the faint lights signalling Nicos' position. "That way."

With how oppressive the snow had felt after their find, IF was glad that it stopped falling on the way. Her hair was cold and clammy, making her wonder if she should wear a hat next time. Then she felt a warm gust and found a perfectly pristine Nepgear drying her with flickers of flame and wind. "You're going to catch a cold," the purplette noted when their eyes met. IF just snorted, but let her continue.

They made it into town after some walking, exchanging nods with the staff manning the main tunnel. Once the group moved by the first parking lot however, something jumped out from behind the wall. "Surprise!" Someone, in fact, who nearly bowled IF over and came to rest on Nepgear's back.

While Gabriel and Alexis each took a step back in surprise and IF needed a moment to get upright again after dodging, Nepgear just turned her head with obvious surprise. A petite figure was attached to her back; their soft facial features and lilac locks were so similar that nobody needed any introductions to know they were related. In difference to Nepgear's long hair however, the newcomer's barely reached her shoulders.

"Well," IF broke the silence with an amused tone, "you never mentioned having a little sister." That one was a good ten centimetres smaller than Nepgear, with a cheerful smile and shining lilac eyes. She somehow managed to keep the expression even while pouting, though Nepgear fidgeted a little.

"Um... I don't, actually. This is my big sister, Neptune."

"Hey there!"

She waved the moment she was introduced, an adorable blob of joy that IF could not really believe was the older one. She gave both of them incredulous looks, as did the other three. "Yeah, not buying that." Alexis looked them both over with a mock frown. "I was promised a pretty woman."

"Nope~" Neptune popped the p cheerfully and pointed at herself. "There's two Neps in this family. I'm the cute big sister and Nepgear is the hot little sister." For emphasis, one of her arms went lower before pressing at Nepgear and pushing her bust up. The taller purplette blushed and swatted her sister off her back. "Sis, stop!"

Neptune only giggled, but complied and unlocked her legs from Nepgear's waist. She landed on the ground with ease, a perfect picture of innocence next to her flustered sibling.

IF needed another moment to comprehend just how different they were; yet, she could see their similarities in almost everything, from their features over the hair to the colouring of their clothes. Neptune wore a big, white sweater with purple embroidery and striped thigh-highs, a big D-Pad clipped into her hair where Nepgear had two.

Once the adults were done being amused by Nepgear's state of being however, they soon caught onto the fact Neptune greeted especially IF with enthusiasm, as well as the younger sister's hopeful expression. They exchanged glances among each other, followed by a set of nods. Then Gabriel spoke up, gathering the younger ones' attention: "I guess we'll leave you three to it then. See you tomorrow."

Only Nepgear appeared to catch what he actually meant; IF nodded and raised a hand while Neptune pouted. "Alright, I guess? I mean, I don't mind giving you guys a ride." She pointed at one of the cars, then shrugged. Gabriel just eyed her car in turn. "You realise there wouldn't be enough room for all of us, ma'am?"

Now Neptune looked back and forth before counting everyone; the car she had motioned for was a normal one, four seats and a potential fifth one. "Oh, huh... I guess. Have fun anyway!" Back was the cheer as she waved as well; the other adults chuckled and shook their heads, waving as they went off.

"So, nice to meet you, Iffy." The brunette hardly had any time to comprehend what was going on before her hand was taken and shaken enthusiastically.

However, she did notice the nickname, throwing Nepgear a glance; the purplette quickly shook her head. "No no, I didn't tell her. Goodness..."

Neptune cocked her head to the side, but quickly dropped the matter in favour of giving IF a little push. "No idea what you're talking about, but I meant it when I said I'm driving you. Hop on in and tell me where to." IF followed her a little more slowly, slightly overwhelmed by the pure cheer this being next to her exuded. Nepgear smiled apologeptically, yet said nothing.

Once they were all seated, with the teens in the back and Neptune in front, the older purplette skillfully brought her car on the road. It was quiet at first, yet their driver's gentle humming made it near-impossible for the heavy atmosphere to return; Neptune followed the radio's tune, a gentle song of 5pb. currently playing.

Nepgear fidgeted from time to time, but ultimately broke the silence herself. "It's, uh, we get that a lot recently." When IF glanced her way, she quickly elaborated. "About sis being my little sister, I mean." The brunette made an understanding noise and took a deep breath, noticing the earthy scent surrounding both sisters for the first time. It was similar to the pleasant smell after rain fell.

Shaking off this thought, IF sighed and addressed the elephant in the room. "I... I never really thought about it. So far this was just about me." It hurt a little to admit, though she still saw no fault with it. She wanted this for herself first and foremost, to prove to herself that she could be strong.

Nepgear nodded, a faint frown drawing sad lines over her face. "I get that, I guess. I haven't really thought about it before myself. Or... at least not imagined how it would feel, even without actually seeing anything." The purplette hesitantly offered her hand again, which IF took and squeezed. Knowing that she was not alone with those feelings, the brunette felt a little bit lighter.

Then again, she was never one to mope for long. After another deep breath, she let go and threw her friend a smirk. "Not like you were out of it at all. I guess you're better at stomaching this than I am."

Much to their surprise, the next response came from the front seat. Neptune had an eye on them in the back mirror, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Yup, my little sis is a tough one. She's just hiding it under that timid shell of hers. Maybe it's time to break out and become a beautiful butterfly soon?"

Nepgear blushed under the praise while IF snorted as quietly as possible.

They managed to talk about a few more normal topics and by the time IF stepped out of the car in front of her home, she actually felt reasonably well again. She would still have much to think about between hitting her mattress and falling asleep, but for now she was okay. She raised a hand to see the sisters off. "See you tomorrow."

Nepgear and Neptune both waved, the latter much more enthusiastically than the former. ""See you!"" They even spoke in near-unison, making the brunette smile, before driving off.

Night had fallen at this point, though neither purplette was bothered by it. Neptune had turned off the radio and snuggled further into her seat, hands firmly on the steering wheel. Nepgear relaxed a little more and offered her older sister a bright smile. "Thank you for the advice, it really helped me there... it sounds so obvious in hindsight, but I really wasn't sure what to do." Neptune only hummed in response, which prompted her to just carry on. "IF is a nice girl, I'm glad I met her after all. Maybe I can introduce her to Uni sometime, I'm sure she would like another friend, too."

The older purplette simply giggled before throwing an amused glance backward, catching her sister's eyes. "I'm sure she'll like her, though not as much as you." With her goal of flustering Nepgear complete, she turned her attention back to driving and the conversation faded out for a bit. Both of them kept their own train of thought going until the younger sister finally realised something that was said earlier.

"When you said that about the butterfly," she started hesitantly, "did you mean it? Do you really think it's going to happen soon?" Neither of them even commented on the fact it was a rather obvious simile, at least to them.

Neptune shrugged in response. "You know I can't say for sure, it's different for everyone. I was fifteen, Blanc was fourteen, Noire was twenty four and Vert thirty." She frowned slightly, ignoring Nepgear's attentive stare. "But I have a gut-feeling it will be soon."

Nepgear took the words in before smiling. Then she giggled. "Ehehe, are you sure it doesn't just want more pudding?" The question made Neptune giggle in turn, though she did not deny it.

"Say, did you see the building she lived in? It looked rather big." Nepgear steered the conversation elsewhere afterward. When her sister motioned to elaborate, she offered a thoughtful expression. "I haven't asked her yet, but she mentioned not having much money. How could her family live in such a big place?"

She still pondered the implications, but her sister's words cut her off: "She's got a big family, y'know? Being an orphan and all."

"Oh." In this moment, Nepgear was incredibly glad not to have kept the question for IF. It would have been awkward, maybe have made her angry despite how mellow she usually was. The purplette cringed slightly to herself, imagining all the horrible things that could or could not have happened to their budding friendship.

Until Neptune sighed loudly, that was. She rolled her eyes and gave Nepgear a look. "Now don't be so surprised, everyone's got some things they aren't happy talking about. Just be cool about it, she won't bite your head off for being rude without knowing." The younger purplette nodded quietly, deep in thought again. Even the city's lights flickering in through the windows did not disturb her.

Neptune let her be in her own head for the time being; she was overall happy with the day and the fact her sister did not have to brood over what happened earlier.


	10. Never Walk Alone 4

_While I do agree with my dear friend Black Heart that hard work is important, I believe she overemphasises that side of the coin. Good rest and enjoyment are just as important to a fulfilling life._

-Green Heart

* * *

The temperatures began to rise again in February. Their team was going strong, carving through Dogoos, Boxbirds, Wolves, and other such things with no real trouble. They had a good routine going by this point, while also getting along well enough.

"Foundation Day is coming up already, isn't it?" Alexis slowly ran a whetstone over her daggers as she spoke, with IF doing the same opposite to her. The only other person at the table was Nepgear, with the men still poking through their lockers. IF nodded lightly at her fellow brunette, the motions so used that she needed little focus on her hands. "Yeah, it's the tenth already. Just two more weeks."

She had to admit that she liked the atmosphere in the Guild; it was much more relaxed than IF initially expected, but not bad in the slightest. She diligently worked away while eyeing Nepgear, who was reading something on her tablet.

That was when André took the seat next to her with a curious look. "Speaking of, do you have any plans for the holidays?"

With most institutions except the essentials like the police and the fire department being off-work on those days, IF had free time. She _could_ join the volunteers who kept patrolling, but doubted that her team would go along with it. "Nothing yet," Nepgear replied while the younger brunette was still thinking. Her free admission made IF give up and offer the same response.

It was at this point that Gabriel sat down next to Alexis and thus opposite to Nepgear. "I'm planning to hit the arcade so far, but nothing yet for the second day."

Alexis was next, putting down the whetstone and offering them all a bright smile. "I've got two whole days for myself, so I'm going to stay at home all day watching TV, eating sweets, and tending to my flowers." She appeared genuinely happy saying it, so IF swallowed the remark she had thought of. Once Alexis returned to her work, this time on the other dagger, the younger brunette turned to André. "What about you?"

"Taking my girl out, though I'm still thinking about where to go." He did not really pay much attention to them at the moment, carefully checking his club for any cracks it might have acquired in the field. His answer made the other adults roll their eyes for some reason.

After some time spent quietly, someone else spoke up: "Hey Nepgear, you up for a round?" When the younger girls turned their attention to Gabriel, they found him holding three blue spheres in the air. Their semi-transparent hue made it easy to identify them as pure magic, its neutral and also natural state. Nepgear looked over the other people at their table for a moment, then cast a lost look at her challenger. "Goodness, right now? Is that safe?"

The invitation was obvious, the game known to all of them without any explanation. Gabriel just shrugged. "Bonus rule: if either of us hits one of the others, that's a loss." Nepgear mulled that over for a moment, then created three orbs of her own. "Okay, I guess? Do you mind?" There were affirmative noises from all of them, with IF already back at her work.

Spellball was as interesting as it was basic, but she could not play it. Her fine control was that bad.

"O-Okay, goodness..." Nepgear quickly schooled her face into an expression of calm, making her spheres rotate in a triangle-pattern before zipping off; Gabriel's bounced into them halfway, pushing two into each other and the third back. Once his orbs neared Nepgear however, three tongues of fire lashed out from her forearms; they caught two and popped them with their heat while the third escaped.

Then Nepgear's orbs were with Gabriel, the first hitting a thin spike of light and breaking apart. However, the second came right after it and pushed through his defense before slapping against his collarbone.

Both combatants stared at each other for a moment, the girl starting to blush over her quick victory while the man's expression remained unreadable as he rubbed the lightly reddened skin. Then he sighed and made his remaining sphere dissolve. "Okay, you're out of my league." Nepgear did not respond, choosing to remain in flustered silence.

IF had still paid attention of course, even if she could not play the game; she tried after hearing about how magic students used it to practice their control and multitasking. Unfortunately, it was already much too late at that point; with much of her free time spent on physical exercises, she had too little of it to make any meaningful difference to her own fine control as schoolwork picked up.

She finished with her second katar and put the whetstone back into her kit, then produced a half full bottle of oil and a clean piece of cloth. Alexis did the same, though the older brunette brought up another topic when no one else was forthcoming. "So, did you hear the full story about Foundation Day before?"

IF shook her head while Nepgear tilted hers slightly, neither of them knowing what Alexis was talking about. Their companion grinned. "Okay, so, you know how the official dates are the twenty-third for Planeptune and Lowee, and the twenty-fourth for Lastation and Leanbox? From what I read, the actual dates were really different from each other." She paused for a moment and stared off into space, then sighed. "Can't remember which days it was, but they're scattered throughout the year.

"So then they agreed on these two days instead, to have the celebrations around the same time in every nation. I think I read that Histoire asked them to. Makes sense, too; things are already a little weird with just Planeptune celebrating Lady Purple Sister's birthday-" Nepgear twitched for some reason "- and only Lastation celebrates Lady Black Sister's."

"And we get two days off instead of just one if it was its own holiday for each nation," André noted with a wink, to which the brunettes snorted. By herself, IF wondered what those actual dates were, a moment before Alexis started to frown. "I just remembered, Planeptune's would be the third of June." She apparently tried to recall the others as well, but came up empty.

IF could not help but be amused that Planeptune's 'birthday' was just a day after Compa's. Which, she realised, was just another four months away again. About as long as she was already working for the Guild. Time passed rather fast.

**. .**

**. .**

With her friend's birthday over, their next holiday soon followed: the summer solstice. IF shook off the thought and focussed on her lesson; she had a bit of trouble concentrating. It became warm now, in the middle of June. Their teacher spent a lot of time talking instead of writing anything or asking questions, too. IF felt drowsy for some reason.

Once she got out of her last class for the day, IF made her way outside in quick strides. She overheard some students talking about the upcoming holidays, too; even if it was just three days, plans were already made. The brunette faintly wondered if her friends would be up to do something with her; Summer Solstice was more of a family thing than Winter Solstice, though much less so than the Day of Creation.

By herself, IF decided to take it a little easier for those few days and do something fun for a change. A new arcade had opened up in the neighbourhood, which she was curious about.

**. .**

**. .**

Another two months went by without much out of the ordinary. It was the middle of August, and the Day of Creation neared.

IF remained at home that day, helping mostly the younger children with decorating the hallways; she currently worked her way over the higher windows in the main hall, with some small mages attaching stickers and figures up above her head. The ladder she was standing on was not the most stable, but she could manage; one of her little helpers held on to it just in case.

More children were putting up decorations on ground-level, quickly making room when someone carrying bigger boxes or the fancy tableware came through. Everything went well ahead of schedule, so she knew they would be done by the end of the day.

The entire week surrounding this particular holiday was free for everyone, as it was Gamindustri's most important day; an incomparable atmosphere of cheer surrounded it, from the children hoping for nice presents to the adults finding time to indulge in their hobbies and spend with their loved ones.

IF still wondered if the nineteenth of August really was the specific day that Gamindustri had been created, but there was no way for her to find out. She knew that Histoire herself had entered this holiday into the calendar and stood to it for tens of thousands of years, though. There was no reason to doubt the Tome.

The brunette shook her head and went back to her task.

When two girls her age entered to find her however, IF was already busy playing with the children. She only noticed Compa and Nepgear watching them from the sidelines after a while, resulting in her quickly getting up and trying to force down her embarassment. Aside from a pink tinge going over all of her face and ears, she actually managed.

"Everyone is so lively," Compa noted as a way of greeting while Nepgear nodded along; if the purplette noticed the gaggle of children spying on her from behind the corner, she did not mention it. IF could understand them, though; Nepgear had grown a little bit more over the last ten months, in almost all regards. She was a beauty without even trying, as they found out over time. No cosmetics, no long baths, no nothing. She got out of bed in the morning, maybe brushed her hair a few minutes, got dressed, and headed out.

Neptune had even snuck them pictures of sleeping Nepgear and morning Nepgear, just to prove the point. IF did not take _much_ longer for her own morning routine, but she still felt a little envious about it. Then again, Compa needed about twice as long as the other two together to be presentable, so she was not too upset.

Shaking off the thought, IF nodded at the children. "Of course, Day of Creation is only once a year after all. Don't tell me you weren't looking forward to presents as a child." Compa only giggled in response while IF smiled and herded her friends out of the room. "I'm a little surprised you're here and not with your families."

The other two shrugged back at her; Compa explained that her grandfather was meeting with this uncle of hers, Jiro. Nepgear noted that her sister headed out for business she did not specify, like every year around that time, and said nothing about her parents. Neither IF nor Compa asked.

"Actually," the peach-haired girl started a bit later, "my grandpa told me a story about the day, do you want to hear it?" She looked between them, receiving two nods and continuing happily: "Heh, so it's said that all the former CPUs at the Graveyard awaken during the Day of Creation. Just that one day, to look at Gamindustri and see what became of the world they used to protect. We celebrate and are our best that day, so they can rest assured that everything is good."

For some reason, the explanation sent a pang through IF's chest. It was a short yet touching story, even though no one could know if it was true. "That's nice to imagine. I'm sure they would be proud seeing us like this."

The other girls nodded along and a staff-member passing by them in the opposite direction could not help but smile.


	11. Never Walk Alone 5

_Over time, it was found more efficient to limit the army to mechanised divisions as to focus manpower with the Guild; like this, we can assign agents to any military operations in need of infantry without losing them indefinitely. In turn, all armies around the world consist solely of specialists and aces to take over the more daunting tasks that do not require Makers or are unsuitable for them._

-Histoire

* * *

Summer had once again parted, leaving them in the chill winds of October. Rather it would have, were the three of them not sitting in a cafe and protected by windows.

Looking over her two friends, IF felt content in a way she would not have expected before. Meeting Compa had been lucky, and Nepgear became as good a friend over the past year. She was fully prepared to go through her teenage years by herself and accepted it, but things turned out much better than that.

Compa was sweet and thoughtful, if a little airheaded at times; Nepgear managed to climb out of her shell a little, though she remained shy around strangers.

"So, Iffy's birthday is coming up again." Compa noted it with a smile, reminding her of the fact and making IF sigh. She lost count of how often she told the other girl there was no need to do anything. It was nice that she did it anyway, but she really did not need to.

Unfortunately, Nepgear caught interest from that and turned a thoughtful look at the brunette by her side. "Really? When is it?" So she told her it was the twenty-sixth while Compa already rushed ahead wondering what kind of party to have. It had happened before, though IF still refused to have something that big. Her birthday was just like any other day.

Over the discussion however, Compa suddenly went quiet and turned her gaze downward; the other two quickly noticed and shifted their attention to the aspiring nurse. When she looked up, her gaze was tinged with curiousity. "Actually, I just noticed. When is your birthday, Nepgear?" IF blinked in response, realising that the purplette had never mentioned anything over the almost full year they knew each other.

Nepgear for her part fidgeted a little and played with a few strands of hair. "Oh, um, it's... tomorrow."

Both girls stared at her incredulously, IF more amused and Compa scandalised; the peach-haired girl leaned over the table, a whine almost audible in her voice: "Why didn't you tell us sooner? Now we can't prepare anything for you!"

IF, on the other hand, already got to thinking and threw a speculative glance at her colleague. "Your birthday is the sixth?" A nod. "I guess that makes sense. People might get weird about the date." Nepgear nodded slowly, her expression unreadable; IF did not pry. She knew from one of the children at home what sharing the birth date of Lady Purple Sister could lead to.

"It's okay, really." The purplette slowly got comfortable again, offering them both a weak smile. "Sis already prepared something, even if she won't tell me what it is. I can tell her to fill you in if you want?" They both agreed to that, which made the smile widen; Nepgear's lips curled up properly while Compa cheered.

Then IF's eyes caught the time and she sighed. "As fun as this is, we have to get going."

Nepgear checked her own phone and blinked at how fast the afternoon went by. "Goodness, you're right."

They quickly paid for their tea and cake, then waved Compa goodbye and headed out for the Guild. It was time for work once again.

**. .**

**. .**

For the first hour, they all thought it would be but another boring patrol in Virtua Forest. Nothing happened outside of a pair of Dogoos crossing their path.

While they were talking about their respective birthdays coming up, IF casually checked Chirper for any news, yet found nothing out of the ordinary. Ever since MAGES. had been appointed as a loweean Maker two months ago, she kept roleplaying in her chirps; CyberConnect2 from Lastation happily joined her the previous month, both as a Maker and with the roleplay.

Both women were twenty-two, three years below the average age of appointment for the position. IF knew they must be remarkable.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when their trackers chimed loudly, making the whole group stop to check the small screens; Gabriel pressed a button to play the message they all received, loud enough for everyone to hear: "This is Scout-336 calling every group near Virtua! A Dolphin spawned in the safe zone! One man is down already! Hurry!" The woman's last word was punctuated by a scream in the background.

IF already had her map app open before the message was played in full, the Guild-exclusive application receiving GPS-data from headquarters within seconds. She quickly cast a glance at where Nicos sat in the distance, then turned and pointed forward. "This way." Following her call, the whole group took off running. Alexis cursed under her breath as they ran.

As they themselves were close to the safe zone, their group did not take long to reach the fighting. First of all, they saw the Monster itself. Six metres long and green from its tail to the tip of its head, except for its batlike wings and the tips of its fins; the Dolphin was far too big to be held afloat by such small wings, yet rolled through the sky as if it were water. Golden windchimes filled the air with their music as shards of ice flew past, a smatter of crimson discolouring its normally golden horn.

There were several holes in the flank turned their way, gaping yet not bleeding.

Next they saw the people, four mages directing attacks with three gunners taking potshots, all of them hidden behind a tree or other. Six more agents stood in melee range as bullets and magic flew over their heads. Doing the math, IF noted that this meant two other teams had arrived before them.

While the adults were winded from their sprint, Nepgear and IF immediately went past the group in the back and joined the first line. Fire was held as they moved, though the Dolphin had gone to ground-level to evade them anyway. It's eyes were intelligent yet empty, taking in the additional enemies as it reoriented itself.

Taking in her allies, IF noted that most of them were already heavily bruised; the one man down was nowhere to be seen and the people with them were bleeding from minor wounds. No one acknowledged their presense as everyone focussed on the creature in front of them.

From behind them, a male voice shouted over the Dolphin's song: "Just keep it at bay, the mages can deal the damage!" As if on cue, a barrage of two lightning bolts and a dozen icicles went over their heads to force the Monster back down. It retreated with a low 'uumph' and reared back, the smell of ozone filling the air; IF shut out any fear she might have had as it charged their line. She knew she could do it, no matter how much part of her insisted she was unprepared.

When the Monster began to charge, all of them scattered to the sides. One woman with them was thrown aside as a fin glanced her, audibly breaking the arm and sending her away with a pained cry.

As everyone was still in the process of landing, the Monster's hide emitted ice to send after its victim; several shards drilled into her and brought out a pained screech. Then a long salvo from the second line pushed the Dolphin back, its momentary cover of the first line no longer there.

IF did not need to see Nepgear to know she was already turning around; as her friend darted off to tend to the downed woman, the brunette drew her own pistol while getting to her feet. Five shots were fired, each of them impacting close to the Monster's beady eye; its attention immediately focussed on her while IF clicked her tongue about having missed. Despite the next wave of fire and lightning rolling in, it formed more ice to shoot her way.

Two shards she could sidestep, three more she flicked out of the way of. Then came a hail that ran into a gout of flame, courtesy of Nepgear. Someone else already carried the now healed woman off, so the purplette was back in.

Another two groups appeared between the trees now, taking the Monster into a pincer-attack from both flanks. Mages continued bombarding it, though the first on IF's end began to run out. The Dolphin was pushed back and started thrashing around, clearly injured. Hundreds of smaller and bigger holes were burned, smashed, and torn into its hide.

With more agents however, it also became harder to get a good shot in; the Monster stayed hidden behind trees or their own people, trying to keep its distance from the first line while also lashing out at them. Two more people got injured during this back and forth and IF wondered how to break the stalemate. Despite being a newborn, their opponent apparently knew not to take flight lest it would be an easy target.

"IF!" A shout caught her attention and she disengaged, taking a few steps back and letting others close the line, before turning her head. Nepgear was done with her latest patient and wore a determined expression. She was also tense. "Give me a push!"

She had her sword drawn, the cold metal almost gleaming; IF took a moment to understand what she meant, then cast a look around at the fighting going on. Magical projectiles continued to zip over their heads and down at the Monster at times, with the gunners taking potshots when they could. That would not do.

After nodding at her friend, she called out to everyone: "Hold fire!" And in the same moment, Nepgear started to dash her way. While those behind them immediately noticed and stopped, IF bend forward. It was a slight issue of not making her katars clank together, but she angled them in a way that gave her joined hands more stability.

When the blur that was Nepgear jumped and landed on them however, she felt a heavy push downward; the other girl used a lot of force in her run, but IF had more than that. She immediately balanced herself and strained every muscle in her arm, pushing the other girl up and off. Every bit of momentum counted.

Then Nepgear jumped. The force of it sent IF stumbling forward instead of backward, straining her tendons to the point of pain. She immediately hid those hands in her sleeves and rolled off the momentum, looking back to see Nepgear soaring through the sky. In fact, she was so fast that she appeared to speed up further in mid-air.

The purple projectile flew a good ten metres, up top above the line of agents and onto the Dolphin's back before it even realised she was on her way. With that same motion, she rammed her blade into the creature; all of her momentum was behind that strike, making her target shudder and squeal before shaking her off.

Nepgear rolled off her own landing the same moment the Dolphin hit the ground, one of its wings neatly bisected and a deep gouge in its back. Before it could back up again, or work through the shock, a dozen agents closed in to finish it off.

Seconds later, it died in a shower of silvery particles, leaving behind nothing but a band of exhausted people.

IF had managed to heal her strained tendons discreetly by that time, getting up while everyone else began cheering. There was much praise for the both of them, her and Nepgear alike. They held themselves well in a fight that required over twenty agents to pull off.

As the tension faded and reports were made, IF cast a speculative glance at Nepgear and rubbed her arms. She had not expected her friend to have that much strength.

She was definitely special, that much IF knew.


	12. Divine Interlude - The End of an Era

_Being appointed as Oracle is not just a promotion, it is an honour. To me, it is the greatest honour any human being could receive. Oracles are not glorified secretaries, they are the very one person chosen to work at their Lady's side; to become one is a goal for a lifetime, as is serving in our role. Never once has an Oracle resigned before old age made it impossible to fulfill their duties; I personally doubt any of them ever will. Seeing one's Lady keep the nation going and tending to it every passing day instills the determination to carry on in us._

-Nishizawa Keiko

Dark clouds hung above the metropolis that was Revay; a storm was to come, yet never would. Not a single gust of air disturbed the plants in the hanging gardens; nonetheless, traffic had subsided almost completely on even the most busy of streets and all connections between the many layers forming the city proper.

Amidst all of this, Green Sigil stood with its pure white walls; the vast veins of toned glass leading up to the circular chamber in its center on the high wall had changed colouring, from green to red. The large structure gleamed almost menacing both toward the inland in the south and the Droidan Sea up north, its large structure bridging over the harbour and coming down on the outermost island before open waters.

A crowd had gathered inside of Leanbox' main Basilicom; all stood quietly as a single ocean of brownish red, much like the actual sea lying before the capital. Thousands had come to personally attend the ceremony, millions more were watching from afar.

It was rare for a nation to be silent like this.

On stage in front of this hall stood the Lady Green Heart, wrapped in a layered dress of the same colour all those in front of her wore; next to her stood a casket, surrounded by a sea of flowers.

"I have many fond memories to look back at; Yvoire was a great man and an even greater friend to me, as well as an honest worker dedicated to his nation's wellbeing." The Lady spoke solemnly as her eyes kept scanning the crowd; her green hair was bound into a tight ponytail and she had discarded the gloves she usually wore, delicate fingers wrapping around themselves as she stood.

No mechanical aides brought her voice to those in the back, for it was the very air that resonated with her power and made the words clearly audible to everyone. "I am proud for him to have been my right hand for a full fifty years; his advice, I will dearly miss."

The front row showed the most devastated faces; while the deceased had never started a family of his own, his brother and sister did. Both of them were present, together with their children and grandchildren. Grave faces and tearful eyes were commonplace among them and the goddess noticed without doubt.

"I rarely see a person grow like this, I have to admit. Yvoire began his work at twenty-six and brought with him the enthusiasm of youth still present; as time went on, his cheer never once faltered and turned into content over the years. If anything, I believe he was a happy man throughout his life." Green Heart gently turned her head to the casket, lips curling into a weak smile while she regarded the picture of her Oracle, placed amidst the flowers. "I never had parents of my own, but men like him make me wish I did."

The hall became silent as the Lady finished, sunken into the sight for a few seconds longer. Then her gaze returned to the people, who were respectfully bowing their heads not to her, but to the man they were seeing off. "His passion to the task will be inspirational for the next generation, and many more to come."

When she spoke these words, two of her subordinates stepped up in their green robes, taking position at the casket; taking the sign for what it was, Daniel Simmons, Yvoire's nephew, as well as his daughter ceremoniously headed up and onto the stage. They were followed by a hulking man in deep green trousers and a brownish red shirt, who also wore shades despite the faint lighting in the room. The last to take her position opposite from Maker Bungie was another Basilicom-attendant; Green Heart slowly took to the air while those six lifted the casked.

There was a gap amidst the crowd, a path purposefully left free of people for this very moment. Those standing to its sides retreated further out of respect when the procession began to move, the Lady gliding after it without a word. Every row they passed turned around to once again face the man they lost this day; when the carriers passed the large doorway leading outside, the last row got moving after them. Row by row, people began to follow the procession.

The air was continuously still and the sun blocked by a curtain of dark clouds. Faint lights shone through the cover, though; one was white, one black and the third purple - the other CPUs had come to pay their respects as well. Yet none landed, for this very moment belonged to the nation's ruler alone.

Ever so slowly, the procession began to move through the streets; a long wave of human beings washing through the lower layers and upward over the intersections, moving over the designated path toward their goal. Their Lady never left her place above the casket, her dress rustling and a weak aura of green light surrounding the deity.

The people walked on in silence, moving further upward and out onto the cliffs far above Revay harbor; here, Green Heart had declared, would be his resting place. The cliffs that Oracle Yvoire had loved to spend his free time on, staring out onto the ocean and wondering about the endless possibilities of life.

The casket was put down at last, only a few dozen metres from the cliffside and on a carefully marked patch of ground. The terrain itself did not allow everyone to align as they did before, but people made do in rearranging their positions; the main difference was that, aside from the deceased's direct family who once again took the first row, the order was now inverted.

Once the shuffling ended and all eyes were on her again, Green Heart touched down in front of her followers. "We will now put this great man to rest." As she spoke, the very earth behind her began to move, sliding aside and forming threads spiralling into the air.

The casket started to sink in as more and more ground was shifted out from below it, slowly and steadily moving into the earth. As everyone gathered watched in a mixture of awe and reverence, it vanished from sight before the threads of solid earth began to wiggle together, contort and form into two waves. The first one gently settled onto the grave and covered up what was now inside, the second draped above the first and formed a small hill.

Then, as if it was but an afterthought, a finely crafted gravestone rose out of the ground further behind, made out of greenish white rock and with finely crafted letters.

It was done.

**::**

The crowd stood silently for many minutes, but soon began to disperse. One by one or in small groups, people stepped out of the circle of those still remaining, then quietly left.

In the end, it was only Green Heart left after more than an hour had passed; the CPU continued to gaze at the closed grave with an unreadable expression, her eyes sometimes wandering to the seemingly endless sea beyond.

She felt the air shift and her grasp on the weather loosened at last, allowing wind to blow once more; rain would soon fall.

Three people had descended to the ground behind her, waiting for her to speak. She knew them all and by heart; her dear friends, rivals, colleagues and companions. They were all that and more.

At last, Green Heart turned around and let out a sigh, her clothes slowly reverting to a dark green much in tone with her hair. "It feels like yesterday."

There was no need for reassurances between them; they all understood what she meant, they all knew the feeling. Black Heart smoothed out her dress and nodded at her while White Heart remained impassive. Purple Heart kept her silence as well, but she was the first to step forward and place a handful of earth on the grave, carefully mixing it with what was there before.

Black Heart followed in much the same way and White Heart did so as well; each of the three payed their respect by providing a piece of their nations' soil to this place, for that it may prosper.

"I guess you've chosen your new Oracle already?" White Heart broke the silence at last, ruffling through her own blue hair in exasperation. As much as they disliked talking about this so soon, Leanbox needed its Oracle just like any other nation.

"Yes. I plan to officially introduce her next week." She was not happy with having to do things like this, but there was no way around it. Yet Vert could not help it; every time she had to do this, the memories resurfaced and drowned her mood in sadness.

The CPU shook off her heavy thoughts when a hand landed on her shoulder; Purple Heart's kind eyes met hers and the ruler of Planeptune squeezed, conveying what ten thousand words never could.

"We are all with you, as always." It was something she said a lot; a kind reassurance given to any of them, whenever they lost their way. Vert nodded and returned a grateful smile while their colleagues kept to the side. A few drips of rain began to fall as they stood, the sky finally tearing open.

"I guess it's raining", Black Heart noted, then she turned and lifted off again. "I have work to do, though. Sorry I can't stay longer."

White Heart excused herself as well and the two of them took off, leaving only two CPUs at the cliffs.

Once they were gone, Green Heart and Purple Heart turned to walk along the rocky path; neither of them really felt like returning home just yet. Twin-braids of purple hair bobbed up and down next to a wave of green; all their other assets were firmly fixed in place and hidden under their dresses. Even if they were not, Vert did not feel like jiggling today.

"Would you like to have Nepgear over for a few days?"

Green Heart smiled again, waving off her friend's concerned expression. While she was very fond of the planeptunian Candidate, this was the wrong time for her to see the trials of age. "She is but a child, Neptune; children should not have to see the pain of their elders. I appreciate the thought, though."

Her fellow CPU nodded and walked along, her fair skin starting to glisten from the rain. Neither woman bothered with pushing the water away, seeing that it could not do anything to them either way.

They just walked on in a comforting silence.

This was the only solace Vert had for a while; she would need a few days to get over her raging emotions. All the goddess could do in the meantime was not showing it. She had gone through this before, so she already knew she would get better eventually.

**. .**

**. .**

It was a dull weekend, but she managed; some ice cream, a good night's rest and twenty-four hours of nonstop gaming helped lift Vert's spirits back to an acceptable level. Now that she was presentable again, the blonde had decided to meet her new Oracle; Yvoire had been in charge of showing her the ropes after choosing her as his successor, so interaction between Vert and the young woman had been scarce up until this point.

So now here she sat in her office, gently sipping from a cup of tea and eyeing the human in front of her with curiousity; Hakozaki Chika was in her mid-twenties, about a hundred and seventy centimetres tall and rather thin. Her red eyes were still moving, the woman's gaze darting over Vert's person with almost painfully obvious awe.

She wore a simple dress in black and green, which flowed wonderfully with the long hair falling down to her backside; green, just like Vert's own when in HDD. It was a nice complement to see, all things considered.

On top of that, her last three Oracles had been male; this was a nice change of pace.

Notes and sheets were placed in front of the CPU; results from the initial examination, Chika's personal history, certificates... all of this had been quite interesting to read. Granted, she read them right after Yvoire made his choice, but one had to be thorough with the important things.

"I am quite confident in your abilities, Chika. Your grades during the examination were outstanding... although I am still wondering a little about your reasons to apply for the exams in the first place. With the resume I have here, I would have expected you to be more interested in either business or becoming a veterinarian."

The young woman shook off her stupor and nodded quickly, not really meeting her eyes while responding. "Oh... ah, yes. I actually planned to go into medicine, but then I saw that they held the examination for the next Oracle, so I just applied. I wanted to at least try." Chika blushed a little bit and rubbed her head while Vert motioned for her to go on. "Well... I just think I should give my all for Leanbox, in whichever way I can. Just like you always do, my Lady."

By herself, Vert noted that there was probably more to it; however, she was the best among all those willing to serve Leanbox and the blonde would not have hunches like these get in the way. She just smiled and nodded friendly. "I see, that is a very pleasant attitude to have. I am glad to have you, Chika."

Her new Oracle started beaming in a way similar to Neptune after getting some pudding, then she nodded with vigor. "Yes, I'm glad to serve, my Lady!"

_This is what they always say... yet all of them die in the end..._

The moment Vert realised what she was thinking, she stopped herself and suppressed a sigh. This was the beginning of a new chapter, so she should do her best once again.


	13. Determination, Unbreakable Will 1

_I should have let her out much earlier, y'know? She could have already had nice friends for years. I don't regret keeping her for myself for so long, but that doesn't mean I couldn't have done better... stop laughing, Histy! I'm serious!_

-Neptune

* * *

While they made their way through the outskirts of Planeptune's capital, IF regaled her friend with what happened the previous day; Compa raptly listened to her recounting of the battle against the Dolphin, curious but also amazed.

They had to walk for a bit after taking the bus out here, then needed to look for the right place. Buildings were less tightly packed in these neighbourhoods, allowing for rather spacious yards. This was also confirmation for something they had been assuming for a while; the Nep sisters were from a well-off family at least. Perhaps not rich, but definitely close.

"Is this it?" Compa looked back and forth between a slip of paper in her hand and the sign; IF double-checked the number Neptune sent to her phone the previous evening, then nodded. "Looks like it." Her eyes wandered over the neatly trimmed hedges and flowerbeds surrounding the stone path leading inside; she could tell a lot of care went into all of this.

They got going with Compa in the lead, both of them carrying small bags with their respective presents. Both girls knew the other was curious about how their mutual friend lived, though IF also wondered what brought her to join the Guild.

"It's actually pretty convenient that Nepgear's birthday is a holiday," Compa noted on the way. IF made an agreeing noise while ringing the doorbell; they had no school this day, which made it much easier to take the time for coming this far out.

They did not have to wait long, as the door opened about an instant after the bell was rung. "Aha, the first guests are there!" And greeting them was a familiar face, framed by bright purple hair. Neptune beamed at them as she always did, quickly darting around the two and pushing them inside. "Come on, come on!" Neither of them resisted the small force of nature, though the girls exchanged a knowing smile.

For all that Neptune was older than them, she acted as excitable as a child.

IF noted the fact there was little in terms of furniture, at least beyond the necessities. They quickly left the entrance behind after taking off their shoes, with both girls being pushed into a spacious living room. There they found the birthday girl, sitting at a wooden table and with a faint blush on her cheeks; Nepgear fiddled with the strap of a tiny party hat, but stopped doing so when they entered. "Ah, IF, Compa. I'm glad you found it."

"No problem, it's just a bit further out than we're used to." IF looked around for a moment, finding no one but the four of them. "I guess we're early?" She rolled her eyes when Neptune jumped on her back, but left the older one where she was; she long since learned that leaving her be was better for everyone's sanity.

"Oh, no," Nepgear told her with a glance to her tablet. "You're actually right on time, it's just... Uni is running late." IF quickly found a similar party hat to Nepgear's on her own head, the straps lightly pushing into her skin. Compa received the same treatment right after.

"Uni? You mentioned her a few times, but I don't think we ever got her name before."

The purplette shrugged at that, a little sheepish. "I guess it wasn't important before. The storm last night was pretty strong and they took a while to check the rails."

IF wondered; Nepgear was shy, but she did not strike her as the loner-type such as herself. She would not say so, but it was a little surprising after all. "So she's from another city? Did you meet her on the internet?" Nepgear's nod turned into a shake at that. "Ah, no. Our big sisters go way back and she has been my friend for a long time now."

This made IF raise an eyebrow before turning her gaze to Neptune, who just grinned and showed them a V-sign. Nepgear did not seem to mind, seeing that she answered the other question as well: "And yes, she is technically from another city. From Lastation."

Now she knew why they never met Uni over the year since meeting Nepgear. Living that far away made it a hassle to meet up. "I see, and the trains weren't running for hours." The other girls nodded in response while Neptune brought out a cake.

Compa tapped her chin in thought, though. "What kind of girl is she? I heard that people in Lastation are really serious and always busy with work. Like Iffy." "Hey!"

Nepgear giggled, as did Neptune. Once the sisters were done, the younger one answered. "Well, that stereotype isn't all wrong. Not everyone is a hard worker, but the majority is. And, uh, so is Uni. She studies to be a blacksmith like her sister." She made a short pause to hand a plate from Neptune to IF, seeing that the former started cutting the cake. "Here you go. Anyway, she's... ugh, this is pretty difficult."

Meanwhile, the smaller purplette laughed without making any noise and poked her sister's back. Nepgear did not react much, being lost in thought. "Uni is... proud, I guess. People over there are competitive in different ways. Or they are more serious about it? Anyway, she is really proud of her skill."

From the sound of it, IF figured this might be someone she would not get along with. She was proud of her own abilities as well, but never saw any reason to push them in anyone's face. Then again, she did not really hear anything concrete just yet.

While Nepgear fell into another long pause, Neptune took up for her. "Uni throws lots of work into the stuff she makes and she's good at it, too. Think Iffy but with a higher drive to compete, and even less willing to show her true feelings." "Hey!"

Now it was Compa and Nepgear who giggled; IF hid her smile behind her coat's high collar, knowing that the older purplette was not wrong. She could admit that to herself by now. "So she comes with the inferiority complex, too?"

"Yup~"

Neither of the other two smiled this time, though the brunette did. She and Neptune exchanged knowing looks while Compa pouted at them. Nepgear sighed and changed the subject.

**. .**

**. .**

Morning soon turned to noon and in time, their conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. Nepgear immediately shot up from her chair and Neptune waved for them to get up as well. Together with the older sister, both IF and Compa snuck to the doorframe to peek.

In the hallway was another girl with Nepgear, perhaps slightly younger and a little shorter. IF faintly wondered where all the beauties came from, considering that this one was as spotless in her appearance as the purplette that let her in. Uni wore mainly black that accentuated her pale skin, a simple blouse together with a skirt that passed her knees.

"-so glad you made it," Nepgear finished whatever she was saying, before pulling the other girl into a hug. Uni simply rolled her eyes before wrapping gloved hands around the other girl's back. "Of course I am here, I said I would come." Her voice was sharper than Nepgear's as well, though IF could not hear any edge in it. In fact, her whole expression appeared rather more soft than the previous description would have made them imagine.

Then Uni's piercing red eyes landed on the three of them and narrowed. The softness vanished and an immaculate eyebrow was raised, the frown emanating displeasure with just that much. Neptune quickly pulled back, so they did the same and got back to standing properly. IF exchanged a look with Compa, who shrugged.

The two girls entered a few moments later, Uni a step behind Nepgear and with a faint blush; her sharp eyes measured both IF and Compa in an instant, offering none of the previous friendliness. She did not say anything, though. Nepgear motioned for her with a bright smile. "Now everyone is here! This is Uni, and these two are Compa and IF."

The newcomer's attempted harrumph was drowned out by Compa, who came forward without a thought spend on the fact they just were spying on her. "It's nice to meet you, Uni. We already heard a lot about you."

By herself, IF had to admit that the confused expression on Uni's face was amusing to watch. The indifferent attitude cracked to reveal her being completely flat-footed. "I-I see?"

Neptune giggled in the background while IF tapped her friend's shoulder to stop her. "Yeah, we heard you two go way back. Nice to meet you."

Green and red eyes met for a moment; IF had no idea if her intentions were received, but Uni did offer her a subtle nod. "Naturally. It's a pleasure."

Compa and Nepgear simply beamed, one because she got to meet someone new and the other because her friend was well-received. Then a plate with cake hovered into their field of vision, held by Neptune and pointed at the black-haired girl. "Here you go, Uni. Put your stuff down wherever and the present to the others over there." "Thank you."

The calm facade was in place again by this point; Uni took the plate and set down the bag she had been carrying, before fishing out a small parcel. The wrapping was neatly done and only slightly rumpled from the journey, with a black bow on top. Meanwhile, Neptune turned to IF and Compa, a resigned expression in her whole posture. "I tell her every year she only needs to bring herself, but she never listens."

Uni almost dropped both the present and the cake when she heard IF's response: "Do you mean as a guest, or as a present?"

Compa blinked at her in surprise while Nepgear and Uni both flushed a deep scarlet, the former hiding her face and the latter looking positively scandalised. Neptune laughed before returning a sly smirk. "Heh, yes." IF just shook her head at that. "Figures." She had met Neptune on a few occasions, quickly finding snark to be the only viable defense against her. For some reason, the purplette did not seem to care one bit.

On top of that, she also got to tease Nepgear for once; they knew each other long enough for that to be okay, and Uni appeared not too angry about it. She gave them a narrow-eyed look that was not scary with how red her face remained, then shook her head and went back to putting down her present. "So you found someone new to play off of?" "Yup~!"

IF let her cover up for the joint embarassment, though she did wonder if there was perhaps a grain of truth in the joke Neptune made. Then she shook the thought out of her head, deciding to wait and see how Nepgear and Uni interacted before getting to weird conclusions. Instead, she threw a curious look at Neptune, who beamed right back. "It's usually Noire snarking back at me. This way is twice the fun, y'know?"

She just snorted in response while Compa giggled about it. "Would that be Uni's sister?" "Bingo!"

After that, they all got back to the table and sat down. Uni took a seat between the sisters, opposite to IF, who noted her behaviour and dismissed it immediately after. She took a bite out of her cake and enjoyed the taste before Uni brought her back into the conversation: "I heard you're in the Guild with Nepgear?"

She nodded quickly and swallowed. "Yeah. It's a good team."

"I see." The other girl pondered her words for a bit, then looked to Nepgear when the purplette took over with a smile. "Uni will join up in three months, when she's sixteen."

This got their attention; IF took another look over the raven-haired girl, who rolled her eyes but did not deny it. "Really? I thought you're going for blacksmithing."

"I _also_ do that, yes," Uni responded and straightened up. "But that doesn't mean I can only be a blacksmith. I'm also a sniper, and a good one at that." She stubbornly held IF's gaze until the brunette nodded in understanding. Then her eyes snapped downward. "Actually, Nepgear said you're using a pistol?" "...Yes?" "Show me."

IF cast a glance at the other girls, noting Compa's interest and Nepgear's sheepishness. Neptune did not seem to mind either way, so she sighed and snuck a hand into her coat; Uni immediately took the weapon once presented, looking it over calmly. "Hm. It's standard, but a good... oh. Nepgear~?"

For some reason, the birthday girl averted her gaze, though Uni appeared more amused than angry. "Say, wasn't this one of the models I told you is good for beginners?"

"Um, maybe?" If the way Nepgear played with her hair was any indication, she would have preferred for this particular matter to stay unmentioned.

"You have to know," Neptune stage-whispered to IF, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Uni is _also_ a gun-nut. If it shoots, she knows it."

Instead of being embarassed however, the Lastationite preened. "Of course." Then she went back to examining the weapon for a bit longer and handed it back. "I see you're taking good care of that one, but it's not a quality model and starting to wear out. You should replace it in the near future."

The brunette just shook her head over the situation in its entirety, pocketing her pistol. "I'm trying and thanks for the advice. Anyway, perhaps we should all go hunting together sometime? With most of us in the Guild, I mean." No one could claim she was not trying, though Uni remained a little off-putting to her. Prim and proper and everything, but still... off.

The black-haired girl considered her words with a slight frown before nodding. "I wouldn't mind that. Nepgear and I went out to hunt a few times over the years. But I don't have my rifle on me, so we'll have to do it some other time. I would not mind showing you around if you come to Lastation sometime." IF nodded her agreement, as did Nepgear.

Then the brunette thought about what was said and cast another look at her newest acquaintance. "Wait, where would we hunt Monsters in Lastation?"

"Everywhere you find them?" Uni blinked at her in confusion, but both IF's and Compa's incomprehending gazes made her pinch the bridge of her nose. "Seriously? Ugh. You _do_ know you can leave any city through any gate, right?" When they shook their heads, the younger girl sighed. "Of course. Look, we can go out anywhere and everywhere, the only restriction is that children need their parents' or guardians' permission. And insurance won't pay if you get hurt or die outside, if you go as a civilian. There is some legal stuff in place for the Guild and adventurers.

"So really, that's all there is to it," Uni finished with the proper behaviour back in place. "Virtua Forest is just Planeptune's tourist attraction; it has additional security and is basically the only place you can safely bring children outside of a city."

Had Uni known IF better, she certainly would have said it differently. As it was, she had no idea of the memories especially her afterthought brought up. IF only barely managed to hide her frown and the cold "Sure" made it through, though it was quiet enough to only catch Neptune's attention.

Now that she was reminded of the matter, IF realised two things. The first was that this day was that day's anniversary. The second was that it had been years since she visited their graves.

Those thoughts remained on her mind for the whole time they stayed, through conversation and games. It stayed in the background, but she could not shake it off. And as the afternoon sun began to sink, IF sighed before passing her controller to Neptune. "I guess I'm heading out now, there's still somewhere I have to be. You think you can win this for me, Nep?"

The others threw her curious looks, but any questions were heeded off by the smaller purplette's "Aye, boss! Leave it to me!", though the cheer did not reach Neptune's eyes. IF had a feeling that she knew something, but did not feel like asking. Instead, she put on a smile and turned to the others. "It's been a fun day. I see you two tomorrow... and nice meeting you, Uni."

Nepgear quickly paused the game and got up to see her friend off, returning with a puzzled expression while Compa appeared worried. Uni just looked between the other three with slightly narrowed eyes, but said nothing. The atmosphere remained subdued for another hour, which was around the time Compa had to leave.

Only then did the Lastationite speak up: "Okay, what happened there with IF?" There was a hint of irritation in her voice, only weakly covering the concern both Neps could hear clearly. Nepgear considered for a moment, but admitted her lack of insight with a shrug. She only knew _something_ was up, not what exactly.

Neptune remained quiet a little longer, pondering the situation. When she spoke, it was preceded by a sigh. "Oh well, not like you couldn't just look it up. Remember that comment you made about Virtua being safe?" Uni nodded and tilted her head in a silent question; Neptune obliged. "Well, Iffy lost her parents over there when she was little. Exactly twelve years ago."

She immediately regretted having said anything, seeing how much the children paled. However, at least Neptune could run some damage control if it was her breaking the news. "Don't worry, she's not mad at you. You couldn't know." She gently tapped around the table and pulled both girls into her arms, one on each side. Uni stiffened for a moment before relaxing while Nepgear happily snuggled up to her without hesitation.

The three of them fell to the floor without a care, staring at the ceiling; Neptune kept a hold on both girls, feeling them relax into it. "Really, it's not your fault." She knew the only one to blame was herself, after all. She could have prevented this in its entirety, many years ago. Had she been faster, that was. "Anyway," Neptune changed the subject after another few moments, "what do you think of them?"

The answer took a while. Uni had her eyes closed in thought while both purplettes watched her. "I... am not sure, to be honest. They strike me as good people, but that is hard to say for sure after just a few hours."

"Heh," Neptune agreed with a light poke into the girl's side, "they're both great gals. But I'm sure you're warming up to them so fast because they make Nepgear smile. Isn't she pretty that way?" Both girls blushed while the woman in their midst giggled and sat up, pulling the other two along without any effort. "Come on, let's get some tea going. I have chocolate pudding, too!"

However, Uni shook her head. "No, not yet." She wandered back and forth for a moment, then cast a look at Neptune. "I think I should apologise to IF first. Even if I didn't know, what I said was still insensitive. But, um, I have no idea where to find her..."

The way they began to smile at her, knowingly and encouragingly both, made the Lastationite wonder if she should be embarassed or happy.

**. .**

**. .**

Night had begun to fall by the time IF fell out of her thoughtlessness. She blinked down at the gravestone in front of her, having read the inscription again and again without ever processing it. There was a hollow feeling in her chest, both raised and quelled at the same time.

She felt stiff after standing still for so long, hands hidden in her pockets. If there was any kind of feeling there, she could not tell. If she should say something, she had no words to speak.

They had been buried together, their eternal souls put to rest in a much different place.

No tears found their way out of IF, she simply sighed. "Sweet dreams."

With those words, she turned on her heels and wandered off; deep within, a part of her wondered if they were dreaming of a life where they were still around. So many possibilities existed, it might as well be a dream of them never meeting. Such was the Gamindustri Graveyard, where all life ultimately ended to dream of what could have been.

It took her a moment to recognise the black-clad figure waiting next to the cemetery's entrance, red eyes focussing on her the moment she left the place. Uni opened her mouth, but reconsidered and closed it again; her expression softened somewhat, though she did not meet IF's gaze.

They stood there for seconds that felt much longer, then the younger girl lowered her head. "I... I heard about this." A hand vaguely motioned for the cemetery's fence, making IF understand that her past was no secret to at least Neptune. "And I know I said something hurtful earlier, so... I'm sorry for that."

She had visible trouble with the apology, revealing how obviously unused she was to offering one. IF took a deep breath to shake off the last of her flaky thoughts and shrugged lightly. "You couldn't have known. Did you really come out here just to tell me that?" Uni nodded, frowned, and stood straight once more. When their eyes met, anything brittle she might have shown earlier was gone. "Yes, I did and you better appreciate it."

There was a slight bit of heat in her words; IF chuckled quietly and shook her head at that. "I do and it's fine, really. But it's getting dark... how long are you staying?"

"Tomorrow morning, and don't worry. I know the way back." Her actual question was instantly read out of the one she asked, making IF raise an eyebrow at Uni. "Really? Is it because Nep is hiding behind that corner?"

She had said it as a joke; much to the brunette's surprise, there came rustling from the corner she pointed at, followed by an alarmed shout. "We're busted, run!" Which in turn was followed by a surprised noise -Nepgear- and the patter of shoes on the ground. Uni grumbled under her breath while IF laughed about how ridiculous the situation became.

One could not even mope properly with Neptune around.


	14. Determination, Unbreakable Will 2

_I won't tell you it's a secret you need to keep at all times. You _can_ let others know if you think they are close enough to either of you. The knowledge about who we are changes relationships, oftentimes making humans go out of their way to accomodate us because they feel like they have to. That's why we keep our civilian forms a secret._

-White Heart

"Now that I think about it, how did your birthday go?"

Gabriel's question was directed at IF, who wondered what kind of thought brought him to this subject more than a month after the day. Not that they did not have time to talk, the plains south of Nicos were near-deserted save for a few Dogoos. December did that to flora and fauna alike, with only Monsters remaining.

After a moment of recollection, the brunette shrugged slightly. "Nothing much, I don't celebrate it most of the time and the girls can only force me to a certain point." Alexis quietly chortled in the background while Gabriel rolled his eyes, the redhead used to her behaviour by now. Nepgear wore a lenient smile as she joined the conversation: "It was a little weird... but just watching a movie with another friend was nice, too."

Thankfully, the purplette did not call her out on the half-truth. Nepgear and Compa could only do so much, but the younger children had been _much_ more enthusiastic and much less willing to cooperate. Mari encouraging them did not help the matter, either.

"But seriously," Alexis chimed in from her other side, eyes still focussed on their surroundings, "most kids wouldn't miss out on a chance to party. Don't give me that look, teens are still kids to me, too."

"A perk of being old?" IF immediately regretted having said that, even though the dumbfounded look Alexis threw her way was hilarious. André and Gabriel laughed at the expression.

After a moment of quiet and fake seething, the brunette shrugged. "Perhaps? You've gotten more snarky the last few months." IF quietly agreed, knowing the one responsible without even having to think.

"Let's just say Nepgear's sister is a handful and I'm not nice enough to let her get away with everything she does." She did not apologise, even though it might have been a little much. Everyone here took as many jabs as they gave.

"Anyway, I was never one for that kind of excitement. I can understand people celebrating Lady Purple Sister because she is a CPU-Candidate... but I rather spend my time exercising." Her late response to the implied question made Gabriel chuckle and André nod at her; for some reason however, Nepgear became uncomfortable. The other girl displayed her usual tell, averting her gaze from IF just a bit and fiddling with her skirt's hem.

She did not comment, even though she took note of it. Her friend had been doing this noticeably more often over the last month. Whatever it was likely was not her business, though; if it were, Nepgear would have said something by now.

With silence descending on them again, the group of five continued on their way; at one point they exchanged greetings with another patrol passing by, but that was all they said. Gabriel occasionally tried to tempt her into a match of Dogoo-sniping, but the purplette did not take him up on the unspoken offers.

At some point, Alexis fell back from the men and walked alongside the girls, throwing a concerned look in Nepgear's direction. "What's with that cloudy expression? Is everything alright?" IF remained to the side and waited for what the response might be, though she hoped it was nothing serious. Another part of her doubted that it was as trivial as Nepgear having trouble to keep up with her curriculum.

The girl herself sighed after another moment of silence, turning a helpless gaze toward the brunettes. "I... I am thinking about something. It's very personal and sis always says to think about it a lot... but I just don't know anymore. I'm running in circles in my head." Both of them nodded understandingly; personal problems were well known to everyone, especially the difficult kind. Had her friend not emphasized on the fact it was private, IF would have asked to hear it and tried to provide her own opinion. Seeing that Alexis did not ask either, she thought similarly.

Nonetheless, IF took a step closer and gave her friend a light slap on the shoulder. "If you feel like talking about it at some point, I don't mind listening." She mainly wanted Nepgear to know that the offer was there.

The purplette nodded slowly, her brow scrunched as she considered. "Thank you... I... I have to think about that, too."

When Alexis returned to the other adults and the day went on, Nepgear's expression already brightened quite a bit. She was not back to her usual gentle air, but no longer giving off a feeling that worried her friends.

**. .**

**. .**

IF had already forgotten about the matter when her and Compa's winter break started. The last one before their graduation.

Much in difference to her usual behaviour however, IF found herself reading a book lent from her friend; it was neither a textbook nor an actual novel, or at least it did not deserve the latter as a descriptor.

Indeed, IF, current gem of the Guild and agent to be, was busy going through a second-rate romance 'novel'; the girl lay sprawled on her bed, naked feet poking over the edge without a care. Her room was warm and she had a cup of juice on her desk, completely shut off from the cold outside. The girl turned another page and frowned down at the numbers, having finished about three fourths of it in the previous hours.

It was not her normal reading material, but she could at least admit that it was nice to just turn her head off for a while. Furthermore, reading one of these before deciding the genre had little of interest for her felt better than just dismissing it outright; now IF knew she really was not missing anything.

However, she did take note of one fact. A character introduced early on was constantly running around with a bothered expression, which she knew applied to Nepgear as well. Much later, it turned out that person had a crush on the protagonist but was too reluctant to admit it.

Deep down, IF knew this was unlikely to be the case with her friend. Yet she could not help but wonder if, perhaps, Nepgear _did_ have a crush on someone. That kind of secret would fit her previous explanations on the matter as well.

She also wondered how to react if that crush was directed at her, as unlikely as it was. What could, or should she say in such a situation? Nepgear was both gorgeous and a great person, but IF remained secure in knowing that she did not feel that way for her. Even if she did, she had no time for a relationship in the first place. Exercises, practice, studies, all of that ate most of her days without much trouble. That was one of the reasons she looked forward to her graduation; with school no longer taking large chunks out of her day, she could focus more on what really counted.

A few minutes after IF finished the book and put it aside, someone knocked at her door. The brunette slid on her coat out of habit, taking but a moment before answering: "Yes?"

With a slow movement of the handle, a most familiar face came into view once the door was opened; slightly sharp features framed by dark pink hair and softened by a gentle smile. Mari gave her a lookover as she opened the door fully. "It's unusual to see you lazing around, Isa."

IF snorted in response, though she had to agree with the statement. "You're not wrong. I just got done reading something that Compa recommended... and now I was trying to figure out if there is anything in it I should actually remember." Mari's smile warped into a smirk. When her charge pointed at the book in question, she began to laugh outright. "Pfff, sure. Nothing useful in there, trust me. Pfehehe, I read that one before."

The brunette offered a smirk of her own and bit back the comment she immediately thought of. Then she realised Mari was an adult just like the others she got along with, so she would probably not mind. "So you're saying your taste in books is terrible? Good thing you didn't imprint those on me while I was in my formative years."

The laughter drained quickly, being replaced by a sly smirk and a flick to her forehead. "Feisty, aren't we? Be glad I'm not the kind of woman that regales your friends with what you did when you were younger."

She quietly agreed, though the subject was changed rather abruptly in her opinion. "I guess? What would you even tell them?"

Only after saying it did IF realise that she ran right into a trap. Mari grinned and sat down with her, tapping the girl's toned stomach. "Oh, I don't know? Maybe like the time you got your first period and thought it was a training accident. Or-" "I get it, please stop."

She held up her hands in surrender and Mari was kind enough not to push further. She just chuckled over IF's luminescent blush. "Don't be too embarassed about it; you were eleven."

She was right about that, but the brunette still felt the way she did. Sex Ed was taught in the third year of Middle School in Planeptune, meaning that she did not 'officially' learn about these things until a year after it already happened to her. It would have been even longer, had she not entered Elementary School at five years old due to her studious behaviour; most students that turned six amidst the school year had to wait until the next one started.

Mari finally reigned in her mirth and pointed at the door with her thumb. "Care to take a walk with me? I don't have time and we need to talk." IF smiled in understanding; they _were_ understaffed lately, with quite a few of the older people retiring or switching elsewhere. Mari remained as one of the most senior members of the staff despite only approaching forty. Now she had to run herself ragged keeping an eye on everything until they were done hiring and integrating new people. She did not show any signs of exhaustion, though.

To IF, it was a sign of trust that Mari even told her this much.

She quickly pushed back her chair to get up and downed the remaining juice, motioning for Mari to go ahead as she did. IF took her glass along to drop it off in the kitchen. "So everyone's mom has to go check that the kids are behaving?"

They looked at each other for a moment, then Mari smirked. "Naturally. And I'm bringing everyone's big sister because they actually listen to you." Both of them chuckled now.

"But seriously," the older woman noted after catching herself, "You're a great help when you have the time. I'm still sad you won't work with children yourself, you would be good at it." IF just hummed in response. She liked working with the younger children as well, but long since decided this was not for her.

Mari kept quiet for a while, following a train of thought IF could hardly guess. She absent-mindedly blew away a stray strand of her pink locks, taking in the girl walking by her side with a fond smile as she did. "You've grown up. I still remember the time you used to hug my leg and now you're taller than I am. You will turn eighteen next year."

She almost sighed the last part, which was enough to tip IF off. Now she knew what this conversation was supposed to be about.

The afternoon sun cast its warm gleams through windows they passed, ignored by both of them. If Mari expected her charge to speak up, she was waiting in vain; IF had no idea how to respond and thus stayed silent. They had stopped at some point, looking out and toward the leviathan that was Planeptower. Mari gently leaned on the windowsill. "It feels weird to know you are leaving soon. How do you feel? Excited to start your own life in earnest?"

Her first reaction was a shrug, though IF took note of Mari's saddened look. "I haven't thought about it all that much yet. It might be a bit lonely to be by myself all of a sudden." The pinkette moved to say something, but reconsidered and closed her mouth again; her lips curled into a weak smile over the words spoken, though neither of them missed the fact something else stood in the room as well.

Once she was of age, IF would officially inherit her parents' possessions as per their wills.

"It has been a long time," the brunette noted with a wistful glance outside, tracking a handful of snowflakes; they were but the vanguard of a heavy snowfall that would soon begin, with the sky already clouding over. "But it doesn't feel like that."

"Heh, I know that feeling. You will probably do better than me when I moved out; you already have a job waiting for you, and a clear goal in life." She chuckled drily.

"You never stopped, did you? You still want to become a Maker."

It was a statement, seeing that they both knew the answer. IF shrugged again and turned her head to the older woman. "That's the plan. MAGES. and CC2 made it at twenty-two, so maybe I can make it in another seven years."

The pinkette chuckled again before squeezing IF's shoulder. "If this came from any other person, I would not believe they could actually do it. With you however, Isabelle... I think you can." With her words, she pulled her charge into a gentle embrace.

IF let it happen, enjoying the warmth and wrapping her arms around the smaller woman's back. "Heh, thanks. I'm glad you always believed in me. I might not be the way I am if you hadn't."

Mari remained silent for a few moments, both of them unwilling to break apart just yet. "You know," she finally whispered to the girl in her arms, "at first I thought you would give up two weeks in. Then you didn't. Your self-discipline is awe-inspiring, to all of us. I'm glad I got to watch you grow up like you have."

She said nothing more and Isabelle did not ask. She simply stayed where she was, content with how things were going. She had no parents of her own, yet being like this with Mari made her happy in a way nothing else could.

This, she reasoned, was what a mother's embrace had to feel like.

**. .**

**. .**

Some weeks went by in peace and soon the year would come to an end.

Running in the cold was a weird sensation; IF had to wear a tracksuit to keep her body warm, and felt warm for as long as she moved. Once she stopped however, it started to get cold rather soon. Sweating like she did was not nice in winter.

In this case, she was out early to get her exercises done before she had to meet up with Compa; they decided to celebrate the new year together, which meant that her evening and night were unavailable.

As she followed one of the main roads however, a horn sounded nearby and made her slow down to look. Then she came to stand at the sight of Neptune; the purplette was clad in a heavy coat and wore a helmet, stopping close to the sidewalk on a motorcycle of all things.

The amused smirk she threw at IF once she took off the helmet conveyed everything about this matter, though she did not comment on her surprise. "Fancy seeing you here, Iffy. Training?" The brunette nodded a confirmation, then looked over the sleek form under her lilac-haired friend. It was a dark blue with silvery parts, not really the kind of colours she would have expected from Neptune. "I'm more surprised you have one of those."

She was given a shrug and the small woman slapped her machine. "It's getting a little old and I don't drive it all that often. But I got some free time with Nepgear in Lastation, so I thought 'why not'." It was a good point to IF; her colleague spent the whole break with Uni after noting she had little chance to visit her otherwise. The brunette had considered tagging along, but ultimately decided against it for this time. There was no real reason, she just did not feel like it.

After a momentary pause, Neptune's grin grew a little wider and she leaned forward. "I'm sure you would look cool on one of those bikes, too."

IF just raised an eyebrow at the purplette, suppressing a shiver when a cold breeze blew past them. She considered it, taking classes once she finished her education. With her income from the Guild, something like that was... not cheap, but affordable. There would also be time left for driving lessons after her graduation.

"Aha, you're thinking about it!" Neptune giggled over the unamused expression thrown at her, then patted IF's shoulder. "If you go for it, just let me know and I'll sell you mine for a discount. It's old but reliable, and Nepgear improved both the capacitors and the engine a bit."

IF snorted at the impromptu sales pitch, then shook her head. "Whatever you say, Nep. I might take you up on that next year."

They both exchanged brief smiles, then Neptune pointed at her clothes. "Anyway, how is training going? You're rocking that track suit, by the way."

IF looked down at herself over that, seeing nothing out of the ordinary and sighing at the comment. "I'm doing fine, almost done with my daily run." She decided to ignore the rest entirely.

After a moment of introspection however, another thought made it back to the forefront of her mind and she cast a more serious gaze in Neptune's direction. "Actually, is everything alright with Nepgear?" Neptune immediately snapped to attention and IF quickly added an explanation: "She has been acting weird for a while and said it was something personal. I won't ask you what it is, but... is she okay?"

The purplette relaxed as fast as she had tensed up, her lips curling into a much more faint smile this time. "Yeah, she's okay. Or she will be, I guess. Just give her time to sort this out; it's something she got to do by herself and I can't help her, even though I wanna."

IF accepted that reasoning and would have fallen into her usual habit of awkwardly standing around for a moment, but this was Neptune she conversed with. The older woman gave her no chance to drag her feet like that. "Hey, do you wanna have lunch? Eating together is much more fun than eating alone."

She considered the question for a moment and was in the process of shaking her head; there were still other exercises waiting. Then however, the brunette realised she rarely spent much time with Neptune before. They got along well enough, but there was just never the time; this was an opportunity.

Instead of turning her down, IF nodded slowly. "Sure-" "Great! Hop on!"

Neptune patted the remaining seat behind herself, grinning up at the surprised teen in front of her. When IF began to move, she quickly produced a second helmet for her to put on. "How lucky I have two helmets with me today~"

The brunette took a deep breath to shake off the snark that bubbled up, putting on the helmet with unused fingers. Once it was on, she got onto the machine behind Neptune and tightly wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's midsection. Said woman just nodded back at her. "Good to know you know how it works. Off we go!" With that, she started the engine and reinserted herself into traffic.

**. .**

**. .**

Far to the east, two girls were hard at work. Around them stood workbenches, containers with all kinds of mechanical parts and tools, and many more.

Nepgear, clad in her comfortable non-school uniform, was seated at a table to the center; before her lay a mass of metal parts and loose screws, which she carefully placed one by one after taking them out of the arm-sized contraption in front of her. She slowly worked through each and every part, examining them with critical eyes before making small alterations or putting them back where they belonged.

Next to her, in casual black as usual, Uni was busy filling cartrigdes with gunpowder; one by one, she added the mixture with practiced motions. At times she unconciously licked a flake off her fingers, though those missteps remained rare. While she could use a machine for that, doing this by hand like her sister felt much more satisfying.

After some more rooting around, Nepgear carefully put the last pieces of the rifle back together and set it down. "I'm done. The safety was blocked after all." Her hands wandered over the metal while she spoke. "Though there are a few weird edges around the handle. Can you smoothe those out?"

Both of them were relaxed during their work, though Uni's eyes narrowed at the criticism. The Lastationite cast a withering glance at her latest creation, reminding herself that being angry at her friend for telling the truth was wrong. She made a mistake, so she had to fix it. Her sister certainly would have managed it flawlessly.

Nepgear only had a weak smile for the younger girl's sigh. She knew very well that her friend wanted to reach perfection.

Then however, Uni surprisingly changed the subject. "Anyway, how is IF doing?" Her expression gave nothing away and thus gave everything away; Nepgear knew well how this kind of face always hid an emotion her childhood friend did not want to display. Curiousity was the most likely contender in this case, though concern might also be present.

After a moment of thought, the purplette shrugged. "She is doing as fine as always; her dedication to the job is inspiring." She did not need to elaborate on that, having described her friend's regular routine's before. She also knew that Uni approved of such strict self-discipline, even if it was much more common here in Lastation. Not to mention that her older sister Noire set an even more inspiring baseline.

Then again, nobody could take it up with Noire in terms of work ethics.

"There is more to it." Uni did not seem to have shared Nepgear's tangent, having kept an eye on how the purplette's expression clouded over. "Did she hurt herself, or... did you have a fight?"

She weakly shook her head in response, slumping onto the table. "Nooo, none of that! I want to tell her and I'm not sure if I should." She sounded miserable in a way that confused Uni for a moment.

"Tell her... what? Oh." Then realisation hit and the Lastationite paused.

Nepgear used the silence to add to her words: "And sis won't tell me if it's okay!"

Now the black-haired girl pushed her cartridges away, some of them rolling off the table and pinging off the ground. She slowly layed her head onto the table so the two girls could see in each other's eyes again, still alienated but more worried about her friend. "I do think she is a nice enough person, but I didn't expect you to think that much of her. There is no one like her in my squad, either. And... I haven't really had a reason to talk to sis about this myself."

Nepgear appeared generally unhappy, rubbing her cheek on the rifle she worked on earlier without a care. Before either of them could do or say anything else however, another voice had them snap up and sitting straight: "You wouldn't know what to do even if we talked about it."

Their heads turned in sync, surprised gazes focussing on the third woman that somehow managed to sneak into the room without either of them noticing. While taller and generally more mature than Uni, Noire was rather obviously her sister as they featured the same pale skin, black hair, and red eyes. Where Uni's face was more round and a little bit softer, Noire's appeared sharper.

The adult nonchalantly strode through the room in measured steps, sitting down opposite to them with a casual grace neither girl could match. Her eyes took in both Uni and Nepgear, though her lips were tugged into the beginning of a lenient smile. "This is a decision each of us needs to make for themselves. It is also left to each of us how to approach the matter. We can... and _should_ not help you sort out your own feelings. If you not think but feel the time is right, and that your friend earned it, you should tell them. Not a moment sooner and not a moment later."

Her tone was a note more gentle than most times they met, but Nepgear knew it still left no room to argue. Uni had immediately clamped up and tried her best to sit straight, a futile attempt to imitate her sister's posture. The purplette sighed and slumped again, not bothering to keep up appearances around friends. "I know. It's just, I would have liked a second opinion at least."

Noire casually flicked one of her twintails back behind herself, offering another weak smile to Nepgear. "I know Neptune would love to help you, but she wants you to be independent one day. You need to base some decisions on your own judgement."

The purplette just groaned in response; she understood, but she did not have to like it.

**. .**

**. .**

It was a weird atmosphere IF found herself in, having tea with Neptune while looking out at the setting sun. What little of the sky one could see beyond Nicos' imposing skyline was painted orange, the shine even further covered by errant clouds.

Neptune did not talk for once, busying herself with some kind of paperwork; she took sips from her drink in-between, going through the sheets at a rapid pace. IF could guess that those were related to her work, but decided against asking. She still remembered that the woman in front of her was with the Inquisition.

The time they spent together flew by like nothing; dinner had been simple but nice, with the two of them talking about recent events. Among others, they discussed the fact that while two new Makers had been appointed earlier in the year, another had retired without a replacement. With Rosso gone, Planeptune now had only two active Makers.

This was highly unusual, for a nation to go without their third Maker for more than a month, let alone three. Neptune had no idea why Purple Heart was taking her time with Rosso's replacement, either. The remaining two, Tokai and Steamax, kept a strict silence over the matter, even when asked directly.

With no answer forthcoming, the subject had ultimately changed and the two of them exchanged their Chirper-nicknames. IF did not really chirp a lot, so her account was not that well known; Neptune greeted her as "a fellow lurker" in response. That, on the other hand, was weird; the bubbly purplette appeared like the kind of person who could chirp away all day.

Then again, appearances could be deceiving. IF already knew that her older friend had much more depth to her than she usually revealed. Now that they were done eating and Neptune got to working, this insight once again affirmed itself. The brunette did not try to pry, but she had to admit to herself that she was curious. "Aren't you off-work right now? Why do you have to go through those?"

For some reason, the purplette snickered in response and shook her head. "Silly Iffy, I'm never really off-work. And I've got lots and lots to do, I'm a busy Nep. I just sneak in some work when I feel like it, that's all."

IF nodded throughout the explanation, having to suppress a lenient smile. Despite how carefree she usually appeared, there was a diligent side to this woman as well; it was as unusual as Neptune herself, but it was there.

Soon after that exchange, they finished up and saw each other off. As night descended on them, Neptune rode into the dark with her usual cheer and a loud honk. IF could not help but let out an amused huff as she realised she got tricked out of three hours of her workout routine; it was almost time to meet up with Compa, so all she could still do was getting changed for that.

She knew she should be exasperated, but it was clear that Neptune had no ill will toward her. IF made a few stretches and jogged off, wanting to make up for at least a bit of the exercises on the way home. She just had to be careful not to slip and fall.

In a way, even though Neptune and her rarely got to spend time together, they seemed to have become good friends already.


	15. Determination, Unbreakable Will 3

_I don't care if it hurts or if I want to stop. I _want_ to be a Maker, so I won't stop until I'm done._

-Isabelle Fontaine, 9 years old

* * *

512 had revealed itself to be the rise of the next generation, as a year of major Maker-turnover was called. May had barely begun, yet three of the currently eleven had retired and another two died in service to their nations.

Bungie, the leanboxian juggernaut, left his position to be filled by Tekken; a woman tiny in comparison to the mountain that was her predecessor, yet holding strength that even he could not match.

Lowee lost HAL in its eternal snow, replacing him with MarvelousAQL but a few days later. The ninja was well-received by the general public, even more so than the one who came before her.

Among the legends that left, Maker From retired after an unbelievable eleven years of service, holding two Black Dreams, the highest honour a human being could ever receive; each one for five consecutive years of service to Lastation and Gamindustri. After him followed K-Sha, a sniper with much to prove and little to lose.

The man already took up work as a tailor into his retirement, more as a hobby than out of a need for money; any Maker received a proper pension, doubly so if they had served long enough to earn a Dream.

What stood out was that the oldest of those three, K-Sha, was twenty-three. All of them were below the average age of appointment to their rank, that being twenty-five. It was uncertain whether the trend would continue, though; Lastation's InterZip had also fallen, but not yet been replaced.

Following the others, Planeptune's Maker Tokai had retired after three years of service, at the end of April. She happily went into retirement, leaving the Land of Purple Progress with but one Maker.

Instead of sitting idle however, Purple Heart publicly appointed Rosso's replacement within the span of three days, on the first of May. With a serene smile and her dragon on her shoulder, a woman tiny yet made for greatness took up arms for Planeptune. Maker RED would take the field, the only ever recorded human being that managed to tame a monster. That alone would have set her apart from everyone else, yet she also entered below average at twenty-four.

However, the spot next to her and Steamax remained empty. An interview with them yielded no further insight, either; the android refused to comment on the matter and the dragon tamer cheerfully admitted to knowing nothing. Purple Heart, upon receiving the same question later, merely smiled and kept her silence until another question was asked.

Large parts of Planeptune began to wonder why the third slot remained empty, many assuming that the CPU had someone particular in mind for the position.

However, her refusal to appoint another of the dozen S-ranked Guild agents currently in Planeptune was met with irritation by some; most did not care either way, though a few felt cheated out of the regular process. The S-rank was given only to potential Makers, the best of the best; this group was the only one the nation recruited them from. Over this incident, three out of thirteen had themselves reassigned to other nations.

Purple Heart saw them off without regrets, making those watching the proceedings wonder just what kind of person she might be waiting for; there was no other explanation in the first place; neither grief nor sorrow could stop the Makers, and there were enough suitable candidates in place.

The other CPUs had quite different reactions when confronted with the situation. Green Heart, bountiful and gentle, shrugged and offered that whatever her colleague was doing, she kept a close lid on it. White Heart, petite and stoic, noted that while she knew nothing, she agreed with the sentiment that someone special was going to appear soon. Black Heart, prim and regal, simply smiled knowingly and refused to comment.

Naturally, none of this was on IF's mind. She remained more concerned about her own matters, though whatever bothered her lilac-haired friend seemed to have resolved itself over the months since the new year. Nepgear no longer wore the bothered expression that kept their team worried for a while, but did not tell them what happened, either. IF did not ask, deciding that it did not matter if it was over.

What was more, IF and Compa both had finally graduated just a month ago. While her gentle friend had already applied for nursing school, the brunette found herself with much more time at hand than she ever had before. Her contract with the Guild specified that she was working part-time until she turned eighteen, so there was a buffer of a few months, which she decided to spend on practice and actually getting those driving lessons she talked about with Neptune before.

Just like her personal life had yet to take any significant turns, so had her career; with Nepgear back on track, the team continued to run well together. They had fought another Dolphin together with several other teams, but there was nothing else in terms of large monsters for them to fight. The last months were rather calm in that regard, though the amount of smaller monsters increased a little in turn. As usual, they crushed Dogoos, Wolves, and sometimes even Boxbirds. Especially those, being made of cardboard with organic wings, feet, and beak, continued to creep her out a little.

As of this very moment, IF was at the shooting range. A hundred metres distant, the maximum available at this place, hung a black-and-white outline of a Dogoo with marked hit zones as she pushed a new magazine into her pistol.

Eight bullets per magazine, eight shots in ten seconds, seven hits, five holes dead center. Two had gone a little off-course and the last one missed entirely; the brunette clicked her tongue in annoyance while she slid the loosened magazine out of her pistol, repeating the process of reloading with mechanical precision. As she did, the punctured target drove forward until it hung right in front of her for a closer examination. She sent it back to its previous distance by pressing a button on the console to her right.

This scene continued in a way that could make a casual observer believe it was just one sequence looped; were it not for the different facial expressions IF displayed in-between volleys, there would be hardly any difference.

Naturally, this meant that she _was_ under observation. Among the handful of others frequenting the building, two were not busy shooting at targets or evaluating their shots; these two teenage girls sat behind a large window looking into the shooting range, allowing them to observe without being subject to the incredibly loud noise of exploding gunpowder. Even then, it was still audible despite the fact the wall was all but soundproof.

Peach-coloured eyes met lilac ones, one girl astonished and the other understanding. While Nepgear had watched IF practice and even joined her at times before, this was the first time Compa got to witness it. Even this much was little more than a coincidence, seeing that the two spectators were simply early for their meeting; neither of them expected IF to compromise her training regimen for them, so they quietly sat down to watch her.

"Iffy is really good, isn't she? I mean, I don't know how good, but it looks like that to me." Compa bumbled through her words, eyes glued to the precise movements IF displayed.

Nepgear snorted about the question, though. "More than good, actually. It makes sense, too; she has been practicing with that pistol for an hour each day, for the last sixteen months."

"But isn't that expensive? I mean, she is using so much ammo..." Compa trailed off, knowing that she knew very little about firearms in general. That was more some of her friends' thing; if she read up about the subject, it was mostly melee weapons.

The purplette by her side shook her head in response after thinking for a moment. "It's actually pretty affordable on a steady income; you could make a case for part-timing not being sufficient, but I'm pretty sure IF barely uses her money for anything else. We actually get another discount as Guild agents, too." Compa made an understanding noise, still watching the proceedings in the shooting range proper.

A few minutes later, IF put her weapon down and took a deep breath. Then she packed up, leaving behind her booth and consequently the hall, taking off her earmuffs as she walked. Another few minutes were spent cleaning the weapon, joining up with her friends, and bidding the clerk at the front desk goodbye after handing over the borrowed equipment. She was a regular, so the staff knew her well enough by now.

"So, what was the plan again?" The brunette looked between her friends, who both shrugged. "Ah, right. No plan, just some strolling and lunch."

She nodded to herself, though her head turned to Compa, who spoke up during her pause: "I need to drop by the pharmacy first. We're out of cold medicine and grandpa is feeling sick again."

They quickly agreed to do that first and got going; on the way however, Compa suddenly stopped and pointed with a quiet squeal. "Look, a kitty!"

When the other two turned their heads, they found a grey cat with black stripes lying in the sun; it was a few dozen metres away, with two elementary schoolers eyeing it in a similar way from the other direction. The feline did not pay much attention to its surroundings, enjoying the warm day.

IF sighed in exasperation at the sight; she knew her friend was easily excitable, but had not expected her to be that easy to distract. Nepgear kept her face carefully neutral, which was a sign in itself and caught the brunette's attention. "You don't like cats?"

As if bitten, the purplette quickly shook her head. "Goodness, no! I think I like them, but... animals and I don't really get along." She fidgeted a little and averted her gaze while the other two blinked at her.

"You mean, like, they bite you?" Compa appeared lost, though Nepgear shook her head to deny the question. "Not biting, it's... oh well, you will see it in a moment. We need to go that way anyway." The purplette let out an almost inaudible sigh and got going, motioning for the others to follow.

IF _was_ curious, she had to admit that to herself. Compa appeared to feel the same way, and so the both of them attentively watched both the girl walking in front of them and the tiger-striped cat sunbathing on the ground.

Once they closed in however, the feline's head rose abruptly; its eyes opened and took them in, then... the cat fled. Once it saw Nepgear nearing, this animal immediately discarded any attempt at hostility or defensiveness, instead darting away at the highest speed it could reach; fortunately for the critter, the street it fled over had no traffic in these moments. It quickly made its way to the other side and vanished in an alley.

Nepgear just shrugged at the surprised looks thrown both her way and at where the cat had run off to. "This happens every time." Her expression already told them that she did not want to talk about this any more than necessary, so IF dropped it with a sigh.

"Bother. I'm not really big on animals myself, but that is... a tad extreme?" Compa nodded in agreement, then looked around and got going. They soon passed the disappointed children who had been watching the cat before, getting back on track.

IF idly realised that she could not remember ever seeing animals near her friend at any time.

While the two of them were waiting outside of the pharmacy for Compa however, a voice called out to them. "Yo, IF, Nepgear!" A familiar voice, belonging to no one else than Alexis; their teammate strolled down the street they were on, waving at them cheerfully. She stopped next to them, stepping aside so as to not hinder anyone else. "Fancy seeing you here, I was just on the way to meet up with the others." Her eyes snapped to the storefront for a moment, but then returned to the two young women. "What's up?"

Neither could do more than shrug; IF took the lead and answered for Nepgear. "Not much, we're hanging out with a friend."

She was given an understanding nod, then Alexis followed it up with a wink. "How's being free of school so far? Having fun?"

Nepgear almost pouted at the jab, seeing that she was apparently still receiving schooling. IF simply shrugged again, making a noncommital noise before explaining: "I'm not used to having so much free time." Then she eyed her darker-skinned teammate again. "Why are you guys meeting up? Did something happen?"

The older brunette simply smirked and made a so-so motion with her hand, but refrained from saying anything yet upon seeing the girl standing with them. "First of all, I think your friend is done with whatever she was doing."

Turning around, they found Compa waiting patiently; she had a hand on her purse and her eyes on Alexis, curiousity evident in her expression. "Hm, is she from your team?"

There was never a reason or opportunity for them to be meet each other before, IF knew. "She is." The two introduced themselves and Nepgear quickly went back to the topic at hand. "About what we were talking about before... why exactly _are_ you meeting up?"

The smirk was back in an instant and Alexis threw them another wink. "If you girls have no real plans, how about tagging along? You'll love this."

IF considered it for a moment, but already knew her response because of Compa; even if her friend had an easy time getting along with others, the brunette knew that including someone new into an established group was difficult at the best of times. Seeing that they already planned to spend the afternoon together, subjecting her to potentially sitting at the sidelines was not acceptable.

With Nepgear not responding and Compa apparently waiting for them, she shook her head at the older woman. "Sorry, it's supposed to be just the three of us today."

However, Alexis only merely nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. Well, can't be helped. I'll send you a picture later so you know what you missed."

"You... do know you could just tell us?" IF raised an eyebrow at the other brunette, who returned a mischievous smirk and turned. "I _could_, but I won't. Look forward to it~"

She began to power-walk away with those words, waving back at the three young women before getting out of sight. IF and Nepgear exchanged glances, the purplette being the one to ask: "What do you think that was about?"

IF merely shrugged. "No idea. How about we get us some dinner now?"

The other two readily agreed and they went on their way as well; the journey over the walkways took half an hour before they reached the nice diner Compa wanted to show them. Its insides were held in warm colours and one could look out at the streets; even Planeptower was visible in the distance.

The three girls ordered their food and got to eating when IF suddenly paused and felt for her phone. Neither of the others minded her behaviour, only becoming attentive once the brunette took a deep breath; she rarely did, so just that much was indicative. Her eyes had widened fractionally, though she already regained her grip and shook off the unusual expression.

When their eyes met, IF smiled humourlessly. "Alexis was not lying." Then she turned her phone around so they could see an image of two people. One was their colleague, easily identified by her darker skin and familiar appearance.

The other, currently hugged from behind by Alexis, with both women smiling into the camera, was RED. Her face was still youthful and gently rounded, the very same it had been in all the articles; she stood more than a head smaller than Alexis and her red hair was done in a tight sidetail, the white stripe barely visible. A red and black dancer's robe clad the new Maker and, most importantly, a golden figure was perched on her left shoulder. It's tail wound tightly around her waist, the most extravagant belt ever conceived. IF ignored her prominent bust, it even being more pronounced by the redhead's short stature.

Compa openly gaped at the picture, a forkful of noodles hovering halfway between her plate and her mouth. Nepgear's surprise was less pronounced, though she too paused in cutting her sausage. The purplette considered for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess? I think it's better not to bother miss RED too much, though; she will have a lot to do soon." No one disagreed, seeing that everyone knew how hard Makers had to work.

"It would have been nice to talk to her for a bit, though," Compa noted with a slight whine. Then she stuffed the noodles into her mouth, having realised they were almost starting to go into orbit around her face from how long they were held there. "I mean, itsh a little shad."

IF had to agree with that as well; she would have liked to meet a Maker for once, if just to see what kind of people they actually were. Now she missed it and slightly regretted her previous decision.

Then she decided to make the best of it and quickly texted back, telling Alexis not to ruin the other woman for marriage.

The response came in a moment later: '_Nah, she won't. You better pray that _I_ don't ruin _her_ for marriage :P (RED)_'

She snorted over that, showing the back-and-forth to her friends, who also giggled. After telling the older people to have fun, IF snapped her phone shut and pocketed it to get back to her food. They were not interrupted again until they finished.

While the girls got started on the pudding all establishments served after a meal, IF threw a curious look at Compa. "When will nursing school start again?" She knew she was told about it before, but forgot the time by this point.

Her friend raised one shoulder in a half-shrug while carefully taking off the lid of her pudding. "June, on the... seventeenth? I think? A good two weeks after my birthday at least."

The conversation stalled for a moment while all of them dug into their little treats, then Compa perked up and swallowed. "Oh, I saw Nep-Nep the other day." Nepgear got attentive as well, though she did not have to wait long. "She was in the central park, playing with a few children."

That was news to IF, though she could imagine the lilac-haired woman doing that kind of thing; she _was_ a child at heart, after all. Nepgear for her part giggled over the fact. "Ehehe, yes, she does that kind of thing at times."

Now the brunette felt like teasing a little, so she paused on taking another bite and threw a smirk at her colleague. "Are you sure she isn't the little sister?"

Unfortunately, Nepgear took the jab more seriously than it was intended and shook her head. "Oh no, not at all. Sis is just... she likes to have fun in whatever she does." IF left it at that, not that she disagreed with the notion.

Instead, she turned back to Compa with a curious look. "Did you two do something together after meeting up?"

Her hunch was correct, seeing that the other girl nodded with a silly grin. "We went shopping together; it was a great day and Nep-Nep is really cute if you stuff her in the right clothes." She blinked, considered her words, and then blushed before quickly raising her hands defensively. "Not that way, just... you know?" Nepgear giggled over that.

Once she calmed down, the purplette agreed with Compa, though. "Sis _is_ cute the way she is." IF saw no reason to disagree, though she remained quietly amused about the fact; sometimes, Compa somehow managed to make herself sound like a lesbian despite being perfectly straight.

Granted, it mightily confused her how a girl as sweet as her did not have a boyfriend. She was asked out once in a while, but never seemed to have good synergy with the boys.

IF decided to stop musing over her friend's love life and finished her pudding. "So, how about we sink some money at the arcade?" Considering the way her friends' eyes started to gleam, she had found the perfect time sink for this afternoon.

**. .**

**. .**

A few hours later, it was only her and Nepgear walking the streets. Compa had to check on her grandfather –he rarely told her if he was sick as to not make her worry– and left early.

"I guess you are hitting the gym now?" Nepgear did not sound particularly curious, mainly because they both knew IF still had an hour of exercises to go. She spread those throughout the day a little, running and endurance training in the morning or noon, and strength in the afternoon or evening. With weapon practice and other potentially relevant regimes put in where there was time.

In this case, the purplette was just making conversation; she became much different from the shy flower IF met one and a half years ago. The brunette simply hummed in response. "Pretty much, I still have an hour and a bit left for today. What are you doing for the evening?"

Nepgear's eyes turned upward for a moment as she thought, then the slightly smaller girl shrugged. "I still have a report to finish for my tutor, so I am going to read a little for that."

They fell back into a comfortable silence, neither girl feeling the need to continue the conversation. IF considered asking what her friend was writing about, but she rarely got a proper answer. The topics were complex, that much she knew.

Had she turned around, she would have seen how Nepgear's face fell and the girl began to fidget. Her purplish hair bobbed a little from how she took her steps, until she finally stopped. "IF?"

"Hm?" The brunette turned around to give her a curious look, but Nepgear pointed to a side alley.

"Could we step aside for a moment? I need to tell you something." She took deep breaths, appearing more scared than determined. Pushing her worry aside, IF nodded and followed her friend. Only now did she realise that the problem she thought vanished was still there. It had persisted over more than six months.

Once they were away from prying ears and Nepgear took a deep breath however, her nervosity spilled over and she began to stutter; after giving her a moment to catch herself, which the girl did not manage, IF gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Stop."

The purplette's mouth clicked shut and IF sighed. "Calm down. If you're not comfortable telling me now, then don't. We're friends and I don't want you to force yourself to anything; tell me when you're more comfortable saying it, okay?" She spoke quietly, gently, but Nepgear seemed to appreciate her tone. The fidgeting weakened, though it did not stop.

Nonetheless, her understanding smile was answered weakly. "Thank you. I, I promise I will tell you as soon as I feel ready. I thought I was, but..."

IF just smiled and patted her shoulder once more, then led her back to the street. "It's fine." And it was fine.


	16. Determination, Unbreakable Will 4

_God, Goddess (m, f): An entity whose power is so great that no human being can reach or surpass it._

_Also: Deity, CPU_

-Gamindustrian General Dictionary

* * *

Most of May passed uneventfully; students began to prepare for the next school year as the month neared its end, but a certain three were not among them.

It remained a decidedly weird feeling to IF, although she slowly got used to the excess of free time. The driving lessons she registered for cut into that a bit, but she would hardly know what to do with it anyway. Compa was busy cramming for nursing school, not because she had to but to make sure she would do well; Nepgear had her own tutor to please, too.

With her friends occupied, there was little else for IF to do most of the time. Although all of them were free right now; fresh air gently caressed their faces, a tad bit colder than they might have liked. Their steps were dulled by the soft earth they were walking on.

A lone Dogoo passed them, quickly to be speared by two faintly blue orbs; only one flew steady, the other wobbling a little in its path. Compa sighed at that, making the magical projectiles spin around herself. "I really need more practice." Nepgear held an understanding smile while IF only barely managed not to grumble.

The orbs popped and all three of them carried on without much thought to it. IF took a look at her phone to check her bank account, then nodded and flicked a Credit to her friend. "Your kill, your money."

Compa caught it, though only barely due to surprise. "Oh... thank you, I didn't even think about that."

After she pocketed the coin, the aspiring nurse took a deep breath and smiled up at the cloudless sky. "I know it's probably boring for you two by now, but it's nice to just take a stroll out here. That's much different from doing things in the city, but I like it." The other two exchanged glances, though they nodded.

"It's different from when we're on the job," Nepgear noted with a glance at their surroundings. "We usually have to watch everything and keep an eye out for potential danger then, there is no real time to just... take in the environment, I guess?" IF nodded in agreement; her colleague put this into much better words than she would have found.

Flowers were blooming around these three; a bee buzzed around nearby, ignoring the girls like they ignored her in turn at first. Then she decided to fly right by them, making Compa duck out of reflex as the insect soared over her head. IF chuckled a little, but left it at that while her friend pouted; Nepgear stayed out of the teasing this time, checking something on her tablet.

Once the other two were done bantering, she waved them over and turned the device around; IF read the headline before nodding. "Ah, right. I've seen that this morning. Surprising to see two new Makers for Leanbox in three months, and Lastation is still waiting for theirs." The article informed about Maker Cave taking up the mantle for her nation.

Agile and calm, the redheaded woman had been the prime candidate for the job among the leanboxian S-ranks; at least in the public eye, that was. Green Heart might have thought differently, although she apparently agreed in this case.

"Ohh, another one? That's five this year, isn't it? And we are still one short, too, so it's basically half of all Makers." Compa quickly skim-read the article with mumbled comments, most of which the brunette understood just fine; she had similar thoughts.

"Don't forget MAGES. and CC2 last year, and Broccoli the year before. That makes eight out of eleven in the last three years."

Naturally, three years were a proper time of service for a Maker, but so many leaving at the same time remained unusual. With Broccoli had begun the dawn of a new generation. A generation that was, now that she realised it, peculiar. "Hey, uh, aren't all the new Makers women?"

Compa and Nepgear both paused and went through a mental list of all Makers recently introduced, coming up with the same result. The girls looked among each other, but ultimately shrugged it off as the coincidence it was. Amusing, granted, but still a coincidence.

Before either of them could change the topic however, the agents' trackers began to howl and their cellphones followed but a moment later. Compa froze in place while IF and Nepgear quickly checked the app for what was going on. The brunette paled at what she read, while the purplette's eyes widened to an almost comically degree.

"How bad is it?" Compa only had the general alarm, not the specifics.

Nepgear told her while IF was already checking the map: "An Ancient Dragon, and it's in the forest. How far, IF?"

"Two minutes if we run," she barked back, making her colleague flinch. Their civilian friend started shaking in fright, but the brunette just patted her shoulder once she noticed. Her expression became more gentle as she reined herself in. "It's away from the city. You should just head back, we will see you later."

Compa considered refusing, insisting they come with her. She knew, at heart, that an Ancient Dragon was beyond her friends, no matter how prodigious they were.

Among all the monsters roaming Gamindustri, this one stood out as the most terrifying. While not the strongest of them all, it was the strongest to spawn regularly around the world. Powerful enough to test the limits of human capability, requiring entire battlegroups of high-ranked agents or a tank division to reliably fight. The only humans who could hope to meet these creatures in single combat and live were Makers, as well as those in the process of becoming one.

With its natural toughness, powerful body, and hellish flames, a single Ancient Dragon could easily lay waste to large areas.

And now one had wandered into Virtua Forest, where civilians dwelled. Compa knew in an instant that no insistence in the world would stop her friends; she could read it in their faces.

Only a moment had passed since IF had spoken. With the prickling of tears fighting their way up, she nodded and turned to run.

IF and Nepgear shared a look. Both of them wanted to say the same thing; that the other did not have to, but they themselves would go even if it meant death. They smiled at each other, exchanged nods, and started to run. Both of them knew what the other thought without having to ask.

Their pace was measured, not fast enough to tire them out; they could assist immediately instead of having to catch their breath. As they ran, their trackers received a transmission from HQ: "To all agents moving to intercept the dragon, there are civilians in the area. Tanks and air support are en route, but will run late." Neither of them commented, though it heightened the tension.

With her heart beating heavily, IF could hear the first roar as they neared; her mind effortlessly ground all fear she might have had to dust, burying it under resolve. These people caught in the battle, powerless, helpless, she wanted to protect them. Wanted to prevent them from ending up like she herself had. She would not hold anything back today, no matter the consequences. Even if she were to die today, then, that she swore to herself, IF would go down swinging.

As adrenaline began to course through her veins, her mind clearing and becoming tranquil, even those thoughts vanished. She registered but failed to react to uprooted and broken trees, or the human screams added into the cacophony. All of these were pushed back for later. She originally feared she may be too attached to focus, but the issue vanished under the force of IF's will.

Then they saw it, long before their allies came in sight; standing eight metres tall and with its golden scales gleaming in the afternoon sun, the Ancient Dragon's bulky body appeared to fill the large clearing by itself. Like all of its kind, the monster stood on two burly legs and a metres-long tail almost as thick. It's arms were comparatively short yet adorned with pearly white claws, one of which was coated in crimson.

The monster's face was sharp and drawn into what might be anger as it roared again, a challenge against the humans surrounding it. Several lay dead at the treeline, thrown aside by the bloodied tail and razor-sharp claws. Only a few shallow cuts in its chest spoke of the effort put into the defenders' attack runs.

IF failed to comprehend the bloody puddle she passed, where the monster had earlier stomped another agent underfoot. Toward the other end of this clearing was a steep hill, too difficult to climb; a group of people huddled there, too scared to move and unable to make a break for it without passing by near the juggernaut.

The only reason they still lived was because it had yet to notice them.

IF took in the scene in moments as she slid out of her coat, noticing the six people still fighting; more agents were on their way, but there was just a single man in the front for now; he desperately dodged the monster's swings, attempting to stall for time. Dirt flew up as the ground was gouged from near-misses.

Behind him, a few others kept up a steady stream of bullets and a single mage attempted to deal significant damage, yet most of their punishment was shrugged off without any effect.

Then, the moment she began to charge, a lilac tempest rushed past her at full speed. Nepgear took the lead, passing the ranged fighters within seconds; IF followed her without hesitation, taking up momentum and focussing on the monster. When she passed her friend again, they were there.

An errant swing came her way, but IF quickly ducked and leapt forward, coming up in a roll that brought her below the monster; in that instant, she put all her momentum and strength into a swing at the scaly hindleg next to her. Sparks flew, but the blade did not penetrate. Then IF had to run because the dragon raised its foot and stomped, the impact sending shockwaves through the ground.

She could see Nepgear appearing behind the monster as well, her face a grim mask. She came up from its side, leaving their enemy screeching in pain; when it turned to follow the nuisance, IF saw a deep gash in its arm.

The dragon's golden eyes were alight with hatred as it stomped after the purplette with surprising speed; claws rushed forward in one-two rythms, but the girl effortlessly sidestepped most and then cartwheeled out of the rest. IF took a step back to dodge the whirling tail and took note of the fact more magic was flying in from their allies now. The staccato of bullets crashing into the dragon had become a roaring storm, confirming that more agents arrived.

After an instant of consideration, IF made her choice; she stood to the dragon's side, in perfect position to distract it. Even if she could deal no damage, she could give Nepgear an opening.

So she _pulled_ from within and pushed out her hand toward its tail; as responsive as it always was, her magic surged forward and became light, rushing like water and tearing into the ground. All the shadows were banished from their surroundings as the bright tidal wive hit its tail and sent ruptures through the scales.

Again the dragon screeched, turning to the new source of pain with a growl. Before it fully focussed on IF however, it easily backhanded Nepgear as the girl came in to abuse the opening too early. The purplette was sent flying a few metres with a yelp, but managed to catch her descent with a roll; IF's attention flicked to her friend for a moment, but immediately returned to the dragon that now came at her.

She stepped back to dodge its claw; then she dodged it again, and again, and again. The monster was obviously angry now, not leaving up for a moment. IF stumbled over an open root, but quickly turned her fall into a roll backward to get out of the next strike.

As she retreated, a moment of clarity entered her mind. The guns had fallen quiet as many ran out of ammunition and more had to reload, so she used the silence to shout at her fellow agents: "Evacuate now, I'll keep it busy!"

She intentionally pulled back toward the treeline, leading the monster further away from where the civilians stood; it followed her without a care, wishing only to crush the insolent human.

Some of the later arrivals did heed her words and turned to the civilians, but that was all she could observe; IF continued dancing with the dragon, her stamina and dexterity being all that stood between herself and death.

Then Nepgear was there, ramming her blade into the monster's leg after a quick charge; it stumbled and almost fell at the force, but kept itself upright and growled at them. All the other fighters were forgotten. As Nepgear leapt out of its reach again, the noises produced by fleeing civilians caught its attention nonetheless; the creature's head turned, only to be rewarded with a stream of light to its face, courtesy of IF.

Following her attack came a heatwave as an orb of plasma passed by the young warrior, striking the monster square into its bulky chest and melting through the outermost scales. Looking back, IF saw the ellipsoid form of a tank hovering above the treeline, its main gun cooling off from the shot. It opened fire with several heavy machine guns while the brunette turned back to her task; there was only one tank, but that was already a lot.

With light having dazzled it, plasma burning it, and bullets finally starting to penetrate, the monster howled in pain before stomping the ground heavily; this time, she was too close and stumbled from the force of it. Before she could regain her balance, the monster pushed forward to strike at her.

Time seemed to slow as her body locked up, concious thought returning to IF; her footing was wrong and she knew that she could not dodge this one. This was it, she understood. Her eyes closed as she prepared for the end.

People screamed in the background, something impacted in front of her with a hard thud... and a gust of air ran over her, bringing the smell of iron and smoke.

When the brunette opened her eyes to find out why she was still alive, she saw a mane of lilac hair in front of her.

Nepgear stood, body coiled like a spring and with one foot aligned backward; claws as long as her arms were held back by her blade, the dragon's force pushing her into the ground. Yet the girl did not waver, did not give an inch. Then she pushed back, unbalancing the monster and _slashing_ _off_ half of its hand before it left her reach, faster than the girl behind her could perceive.

In this moment, IF understood. The person before her was not human. Could not be human. But she had no time to think; the fight was still on, the momentary pause over. As the monster's hand disintegrated into particles, it howled in a decidedly higher pitch while stumbling back. That was when a squadron of drones opened fire on it, adding even more bullets to the storm washing over its hide.

In that moment, Nepgear's attention switched from their enemy to IF; concern and determination warred on her expression as their eyes met, then the purplette was hit by the tail she did not see coming. She went flying with a surprised cry as IF rolled backward to evade the attack, vanishing among the trees.

But she was safe, that much was for certain. IF continued to focus on the enemy, battered and bruised as it was. The monster, missing a hand, a light hole in its chest and more all over its hide, a lost eye from somewhere, nasty gashes in its legs, began to growl darkly as smoke rose from its nostrils.

IF's blood ran cold as her body reacted almost automatically. The Ancient Dragon's final trump, an ability they only used while close to death. She could not dodge it, could not prevent it. But she could at least try to protect those standing behind her now.

Bounds put in place by discipline and sheer force of will were loosened, allowing her magic to surge from her core. IF channeled it as best as she could, pushing her open palms toward the dying juggernaut. Warm waves curled through her body, barely not heating it up from within as the power rushed forward.

They screamed as one, flames sprouting from the dragon's maw and IF's hands. The monster roared out its hatred, the girl let out her pain. With so much magic and so little control, some began to ignite before leaving her body.

Between them, fire met fire and began to push; were they ordinary flames, they ought to have ignored each other. Yet these were magical flames, the added quantity allowing the burning tides to meet. The katars strapped to IF's arms began to melt from pure heat alone, her flames refusing to give way as the dragonfire roared against them. The girl kept her arms steady with nothing but her will, clamping down on the searing pain lest it overpower her mind.

A second passed, then two. Then five, and the dragon's magic stopped coming. Without anything holding it back anymore, IF's fire carried on and singed the monster's face before she stopped.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. No wind howled, the people stood in awed shock and even the _dragon_ paused at what it just saw happen.

Then, in the silence, it screeched and fell forward; IF dodged the falling body, recognising Nepgear on top of it; her friend's sword was rammed into the dragon's head to the hilt, having killed it for good. The other girl's expression held relief, which did not change when the monster disintegrated below her and she dropped to the ground.

The moment Nepgear landed, the cheering began. IF hardly heard it at first over her thundering heartbeat; the drones fell back and the tank finally reached ground level while fellow agents secured the area against other monsters.

It was over. They made it.

Suppressing the excruciating pain as best as she could, IF looked her friend over with a shaky smile. "Looks like we won." Her throat was dry, all the liquid apparently having become the sweat she was drenched in.

At first her friend wanted to respond, but the forming smile immediately turned into horror when she saw IF's arms. "Goodness gracious, what?!"

Looking down, IF understood the sentiment. Starting from her elbows, the skin became ever more ruptured and peeled off toward the hands. It turned from an ugly red at the elbows to charcoal black at her palms, the limbs barely following her orders once the adrenaline faded from her system.

IF looked on for a moment longer, then she sighed and got what was left of her magic to work. A faint shimmer of green light emanated from the open wounds, the echoes telling her more than she wanted to know. From the feel of it, she cooked her arms from the inside out.

"Don't worry about it." She could tell Nepgear _did_ worry; IF had burned herself before, but never to this extent. It would take at least weeks to restore this, even with the amount of healing power she could bring to bear. At least her bones were not broken, that would have been much more of a hassle.

Then hands gently took hold of the scorched arms, the touch alone sending a jolt of pain through her system.

And a moment later, her arms no longer hurt. A flood of unfamiliar magic coursed through them with a strength she could not match, restoring lost cells, veins, muscles, and everything else within moments. The ugly colours left her skin, returning to their usual rosy tone.

Nepgear sighed in relief before letting go of her arms, though she did not meet IF's gaze this time. Her hands fiddled with the katars' straps, releasing them from her arms; they fell to the ground with a dull sound. Her flames had molten those blades by proximity alone, making them useless.

After a few moments, her friend finally looked up to see IF's smile; another one bloomed in response.

They were soon swamped by their fellow agents, receiving congratulations and thanks; both girls blushed under the praise, though IF got to mask it as she slid her coat back on. Someone had brought it over from the other side of the clearing.

Amidst the celebration however, all of them felt a gentle presence settle onto their minds; without having to look, they all could tell where she was, turning their heads as one. Only Nepgear took a moment longer.

Above the hill, a fond smile etched onto her face, flew Purple Heart. Her black armour already became a flowing robe in her nation's colour, eyes firmly on the two girls. When she landed before the group, everyone bowed their heads respectfully.

The goddess did not pay much attention to the agents; she simply walked past them, the crowd opening up before her without hesitation.

IF only saw her feet and long legs, her Lady's twin braids of purple hair swishing around them without ever touching the ground. Despite being that long, the hair seemed to hover where it should fall.

When she stood before Nepgear and her, Purple Heart gently put a hand under IF's chin; the goddess spoke while pulling her head upward. "Of all the people present, you will not bow to me today. I was too far to make it in time, only being able to see the end of it in the distance. Without you two, this could have gone much worse than it did." Her voice carried, dark and mature, those full blue eyes filled with appreciation as they met IF's disbelieving green. A sharp yet gently rounded face, almost regal in its appearance.

Even if she wanted to speak, IF would be unable to; this was the first time she truly stood before a CPU, her overwhelming presence pushing any thought of words out of her mind. She was not scared, simply awed by the being before her. Purple Heart stood a head taller than IF, who was already not a small girl; she had to look up to meet the deity's gaze, blushing furiously over the additional praise.

The goddess huffed in amusement before looking around; her hand left the brunette's chin as well. Purple Heart cast a look at the tank commander, whose team stood behind him and at attention. "Of all the times to schedule a drill... how did you make it here so fast?"

"Overrode the safeties, my Lady. The engine is close to busted." IF's gaze flicked to the man as he spoke, not the tiniest bit of remorse in his behaviour.

Then again, the presence encompassing them was soothing and the Lady appeared not at all disappointed. "I see. Please mark your report to be sent to Histoire. Good work."

"Yes, my Lady."

He saluted, as did his subordinates. More tanks had begun arriving by now, securing the perimeter from above. Purple Heart, however, only looked at the surroundings with a slight scowl. "Please have the fallen retrieved and the civilians checked. All agents present can take tomorrow off. I will get those two," where she indicated IF and Nepgear, "and bring them back myself. I saw how your arms looked like." The last part was directed at the surprised IF, who immediately averted her gaze.

Only now did she realise that her most well-kept secret was out, yet there was no sense of unease. In fact, she felt mostly relieved about having to hide it no longer. She was worried about repercussions, yes; but if she were to make this choice again, her decision would not change.

While everyone else bowed and got to work, she remained where she was with her Lady and Nepgear. Nepgear, who she now remembered to be more than just a normal person. Nepgear, who was frowning and had a hand pressed to her forehead. Her face flushed a little and she wobbled for a moment.

Before IF could bring it up however, a hand clad in dark gloves was held out to her. "Hold on tight, Isabelle." And for the first time in many years, she liked hearing her own name from anyone not Mari; it was spoken with care, making her feel at ease. Purple Heart held her other hand out to Nepgear, who stepped up and hugged the taller woman's waist.

Touching a CPU would be scandalous without her permission, at least to IF. Knowing that she was not only allowed but _asked to_ be so close to the goddess she revered made her feel many conflicting feelings. Most of all though, she did not want to refuse an order, no matter how friendly it was worded. Now that she knew who Nepgear was, it was clear that there were things to be said.

So she did what Nepgear had, closing in and tightly wrapping her arms around the Lady; they had to adjust a little to not get in each other's way, but they managed. A strong arm wrapped around IF's back to hold her tight, making the girl feel as safe as she never had before. Some part of her remembered a similar embrace from long ago, but it was such a vague memory and hardly compared to the powerful feelings surging through her now.

The Lady was soft. And warm.

Then, gently, they took to the air; a foot pushed itself below Isabelle's, allowing her to stay steady even as they sped up. She could only see half of Nepgear's face, the remainder hidden by the taller CPU's shoulder. Purple Heart's expression was calm again, directed elsewhere. "I masked us from sight," she told them after a moment. Nothing had changed to Isabelle, but she knew to believe. Even if she were skeptical, the feeling of air rushing by her back and making her coat flutter took most of her attention.

Looking back down, she could see the ground far away; the forest had given way to the plains, with her hometown falling away in the distance. Only Planeptower remained in sight after a while.

The sweat on her skin had dried by this point, this new exhilaration pumping more adrenaline. Even over the thrill of being mid-flight however, she did not miss how Nepgear began to glimmer; her gentle face was marred by a pained frown and she held on even tighter. "Uhhh, I feel weird..."

A soft hum escaped the woman holding them, vibrating through her body for Isabelle to feel. Her hand slowly moved, caressing the purplette's head. "It is quite alright. We should be far enough."

With those words, they returned to the ground and gently touched down. The embrace was lessened and IF let go reluctantly; she would have liked to stay as she was a little longer, already missing the feeling. Yet she did step back, her expression remaining a little softer than usual. Calm breezes caressed the flowers around the small hill they stood on, with a few lone trees filling the vast expanse of grassland.

Dogoos and some Boxbirds were roaming nearby, curiously watching the new arrivals but not yet closing.

IF took a deep breath, reminiscing in the experience she just had; flying was quite different to anything else she ever did, even if she was merely a passenger. Despite the exhaustion that settled in from where they just were, she pulled herself together. The divine aura encompassing her did its part in keeping her mind active; IF slowly became used to it, regaining her ability to speak if she wanted to. Although in this very moment, she felt it was not for her to say anything despite the questions rolling around in her mind.

Nepgear had begun to outright shine with an inner light now, massaging her temples as she did.

After letting them go, Purple Heart had taken a closer look at their surroundings and nodded slightly. "Yes, this should be appropriate." Then she turned to IF with a faint nod. "My apologies for just taking you along, Isabelle. I believe that you more than earned to see this."

They were interrupted by a whimper, turning their attention to Nepgear who was clutching her center with a pained expression. The CPU gently petted her head again, a fond smile on her lips. "There is no need to hold it in any longer. Let it out. Embrace your nature and shine."

The girl whimpered again and nodded, and the shine exploded into a surge of silver light. It effortlessly tore her clothes apart, leaving but a silhouette to IF's eyes for a full second.

It was the most beautiful light she had ever seen, filled with nuance, gentleness, hope, _possibility_.

Before her eyes, a pristine white bodysuit formed out of the light, reaching from Nepgear's feet to her throat; every inch of skin was covered in elastic yet form-fitting material, pink accents here and there. A sleek weapon formed in her hands, its blade as white as the rest.

Next Nepgear's face became visible again, her hair a vibrant shade of pink, brighter and more radiant than ever before. There was little change to her features outside of the slightly different hair colour, and once she opened her eyes, IF could see the divine mark where her pupils should be; a drop of water in the process of meeting the ocean. A mark that was unmistakable.

It was in this moment that a second presence hit IF, confirming what she had already known yet found no time to process. It told her clearly that between them was a gap, one that was insurmountable. It told her that with Nepgear, she was safe. It promised she would care for her and protect her if she was in need of such, no matter when or why.

Nepgear looked down at herself, eyes wide and a mix of expressions on her face. She slowly beheld her covered hands, taking in the weapon and feeling over the smooth material. "I... does it always feel this weird?"

The lighting had not changed, yet she appeared to brighten up her surroundings. Her voice had not changed, yet it had an ethereal note to it just like her sister. Purple Heart chuckled quietly, shaking her head. "No, this will not happen again after the first time. However, you will also never again obtain the same beauty you held today."

A sigh had them both turn, meeting IF's gaze before the brunette averted hers. She could not bear staring into those eyes for too long. "I... guess that makes it clear." Her words came slowly, the presence of two deities right before her making it difficult to speak. She much rather just stand awestruck, staring at the goddesses for as long as they let her.

Yet, for all of her freshly gained radiance, the younger CPU averted her gaze and began to tap her index fingers together in a familiar gesture. "Um, yes. I think I have to apologise for not managing... I wanted to tell you, IF. I really wanted to, but... I just couldn't."

She was not angry or hurt about it; being considerate about who to let in on such a secret was a given, and IF remembered for how long her friend had been bothered by it. She gently shook her head at the overwhelming woman before her. "It's fine." Then her previous thought returned, as if a highlight in plain text; she thought of a CPU as her friend. "But... does this change anything?"

Nepgear immediately shook her head, raising a hand almost pleadingly. "Only if you want something to change."

Had her mental faculties worked properly, IF may have noted the hint of fear in her posture; as it was, she only felt relief before shaking her own head. "No, I'm quite happy with it. By the way, you got pretty obvious toward the end back there, you know?" She could not help but needle her friend a little, partly to test the waters and partly to assure herself.

Nepgear's expression became thoughtful as she apparently wondered what IF meant, so the brunette helped her out: "I mean, you did save my life with that one so I'm not going to complain, but..." She had the feeling she should be more upset about having almost died than she was, but her internal reaction was mediocre at best.

Nepgear's cheeks quickly turned a shade more pink, but the girl chuckled. An armour-clad hand covered her mouth as she did. "Heh, I guess? But I really don't... do not need to consider when choosing between saving a friend and keeping a low profile. Besides," the CPU needled her back, "I am rather sure that your little display took all the attention from me. Your control is awful, by the way."

Now it was for IF to avert her gaze and blush a little. "Yeah, I know. There is a reason I never actually told anyone, and I mean anyone. No need to tell me that was dumb, I know it." She sighed while Nepgear broke into full-blown laughter, her gaze wandering from the Candidate to her sister.

Her mind was still refusing to correlate the imposing figure before her with the friendly face she remembered, but there was no denying it. "Then that makes my Lady... Neptune?"

Now the elder CPU chuckled as well, offering her a fond smile as she folded her arms behind her back. "Quite. You are the very first to ever make the connection on your own. Granted, this is a special case." Then her eyes wandered to her mirthful sibling, the smile turning so much more gentle that IF almost felt envious over but a simple gaze.

Once Nepgear had calmed down, she hugged herself with a happy sigh, making even such a gesture appear graceful. "Oh, I actually did it. My apotheosis..." She babbled more at herself than at them, all but actually squealing in joy. "HDD, finally!"

Hard Drive Divinity, or HDD, the very most powerful state a CPU could assume. All public appearances were held exclusively in this form, for it offered both the ability to fly and the aura IF was still feeling. In addition, it granted a certain anonymity to their civilian forms.

IF just shook her head over the display; even as a deity, Nepgear remained Nepgear. For as crass as the change between Neptune and Purple Heart was, as small were the differences between the purplette's two forms. Said girl was currently looking at her hands in wonder. "Actually, how _did_ I do that?"

Purple Heart gently ruffled her sister's hair with a smile, eyes twinkling in amusement at how lost she appeared. "At birth, all CPUs already have a certain base character. Like with humans, this character grows and solidifies for the first few years of their life. Unlike humans however, we have the potential to outgrow and change as we see fit with time." A sideway glance was thrown at IF, who raised an eyebrow. No words were spoken, but she knew this explanation was for her as well.

"The ability to change this much is not inherently divine, but a clear mark setting us apart from humans. I let you grow up the way you were, seeing you become a sweet if shy girl." Nepgear nodded slowly, hanging on her sister's every word. "Over the last eighteen months, you changed a lot. A change which allowed you to bloom today, when instead of hesitating, you threw yourself head-first into battle to protect what you care about. You gained courage and stability.

"That, this very first change after your personality solidified, is the trigger for our apotheosis. The proof to ourselves that we can and will change as needed. Your Hard Drive Divinity reflects this, as you changed very little in appearance; you are fine with yourself, yet now you stand straight and with your head held high. The courage you displayed today is what you also gained; I am quite glad," the older CPU closed, "that it was such a good change. Any that follow will be harder to obtain."

Neither of them had moved as they listened to Purple Heart's explanation. Nepgear appeared thoughtful while IF was caught in introspection, looking at herself more closely; she did not feel any _need_ to change, at least in any significant way.

Her thoughts were interrupted by movement, making her focus on Nepgear again; her friend was now looking right back at her, a happy gaze that seemed to pierce right into IF's soul nonetheless. "Now that we are here, that all of this happened, I believe it is high time I say it properly." Then she held out a hand to her, beaming more brightly than ever before. "I am unbelievably glad we became friends, IF. I am Nepgear, Planeptune's Purple Sister."

The gesture made her bite back a laugh as she took the hand. "Pleased to meet you." Nepgear's grip was surprisingly weak, as if she were not even trying to press. IF could guess that her friend held back as to not crush her hand.

A light clap brought them out of their own dimension, returning attention to Purple Heart. The older CPU had her eyes on the monsters watching them. "How about we put your new abilities to the test, Nepgear? There are a few targets for you to practice on."

IF personally would have preferred to go home and lie down, but she remained on her feet and pushed back the whooziness from adrenaline, pain, and magical exertion. She wanted to see this as well.

Nepgear turned her head this way and that, considering the wary monsters before shrugging. "I guess? Just let me..." She began to mumble as the blade on her weapon was retracted, allowing a gently glimmering port to open freely. It emanated dark pink particles that quickly faded while Nepgear's smile turned almost feral. "I _think_ I _like_ this."

The blade, normally as long as Nepgear's entire arm, had halved its size as she effortlessly pointed it forward, at a pair of Dogoos. The monsters wobbled for but a moment, then they and everything around them was rent asunder by a dark pink beam. It easily cut through monsters, plants, and dirt alike, the sheer amount of energy disintegrating several square metres of ground. When the light died down, only glass was left in the crater.

Instead of stopping to look at her handiwork, Nepgear continued; she turned quickly, reducing every monster surrounding them to particles with pinpoint accuracy.

Ten seconds after she started, the plains were empty. All wildlife had long since fled, leaving a disturbing silence over the countless craters where monsters once stood. IF, despite having expected it, was still a little intimidated by the amount of casual destruction her friend just dished out. Nepgear turned this way and that, her gunblade lowered to the ground. For some reason, the girl's expression was much more subdued now. "Goodness, I need to practice my fine control."

Purple Heart simply chuckled in return as she gave the area a once-over. "This is quite adorable."

Before she could stop herself, IF threw the Lady a look. "Are we defining that word the same way?"

Around the time she realised what she just did, the older CPU snorted and shrugged. "It is good to see you can still talk back properly." There was no admonishment in her voice as she said that, dropping the matter without another word. "That aside..."

A purple gleam emanated from within the CPU, gently permeating their surroundings until they could no longer follow it with their eyes. The ground rumbled a bit as glassed earth became once more pristine, the holes filling themselves, and fallen trees regrew together with burned grass. The whole process took maybe a minute, leaving the plains in about the same state they used to be. There were subtle differences, but nobody else would notice; terraforming was quite useful, IF noted. Also draining, that much she knew.

It was only then that Purple Heart finished her statement: "I believe it is time to head home. You two had an eventful day."

_**...**_

_**Another had arisen, and thus another would eventually fall.**_


	17. Mortal Interlude - Adventurers Retire

_With monsters bringing danger to the land, the most favoured approach of nations is to build vast, well-defended cities for their people to live in; only the needed infrastructure, like farmland, is often kept outside and also under heavy guard. It is a safe approach to protecting the population, but leaves large parts of Gamindustri to roaming Monsters._

_While it is also true that the CPUs and the Guild do their best to exterminate as many as possible, it is adventurers who commit the most outstanding of deeds; they are the people who walk far away from civilisation, exploring parts of Gamindustri no human might have been to for generations. They are without doubt the most courageous of us all, but also the most tragic. Statistically, every second adventurer will not return home._

-Excerpt from "Between Gods and Monsters - The People of Gamindustri"

* * *

When the woods around her cleared up, Christine knew she was almost home. The train soon passed Menai's protective walls and entered the city proper.

She had returned at last.

A happy smile found its way onto the woman's face over the familiar sights all around; this was where she grew up, her hometown.

The window slightly reflected her own gaze back at her, a mature face framed by dark red hair and dreamy amber eyes; the sight made Christine chuckle. She was clad in a white tunic and sleek, blue shorts that allowed her to move freely no matter what kind of athletics she wanted to do; it had been necessary on her journey without doubt.

Her feet, wrapped in black socks and protected by a set of blue boots with white trim, rested on the violin case she carried around everywhere; there was no better place to put her trusted blade, really. Christine did think about just wearing a sheath, but the case was much more useful; it doubled as storage for things that did not fit into her backpack.

It really had been five months again.

The thought came up uninvited, but it made her reflection become a bit wistful. She sometimes forgot how fast time could pass when one was having fun; the beginning of her first journey felt like yesterday, even though it had been seven years ago.

Now she was back home again, the thought making the redhead smile; though a big reason for this was also her filled bank account. The Guild and government really were considerate with the wide-area satellite coverage; Christine killed hundreds of actual monsters on her last journey alone, earning money for each that perished. It was not at all enough to retire, but she did not have any debts and enough left to make do for a while.

Menai had not changed in the slightest while she was gone, she noticed after leaving the station. Large plumes of smoke rose from the vast industrial district, everyone hard at work in their factories just as usual; a group of businessmen walked past her, their black suits neatly trimmed, talking among each other. Christine just smiled at them as she passed by, which made the group nod at her before returning to their discussion.

It was as orderly as she remembered it being; a nice change of pace to the chaos that lingered outside. She could have taken the bus to make it back to her place faster, but Christine much preferred to walk and take in her surroundings. It was a nice day, with sunlight basking the whole city and its white, greyish, red, and brown houses.

The massive form of Menai's Basilicom was still visible over the other buildings, a behemoth grasping into the sky on cogs and wheels; the only other colours around were the lush browns and greens of trees, and beds of flowers arranged on both sides of the road.

Where Planeptune's skyscrapers were magnificent, Lowee's vast fields of huts and bungalows snuggly and Leanboxian resorts relaxing, this neat and efficient arrangement of houses made the woman feel at ease.

Christine dodged a ball that came flying, dodged it again when it came back after being reflected from the wall behind her and waved at the child that ran toward her shouting "I'm sorry!"

She waved the girl off and smiled. "No harm done, just be more careful in the future." The little one smiled back and nodded, then she took the ball and the whole group went back to playing. This was one of the less used streets, so children often played here; the Basilicom actually made it a low-traffic area because of that.

Thinking back, Christine could remember playing tag around this place as well when she was a girl.

The redhead walked on and soon reached a housing complex, the one she had been aiming for; it was rather close to the train station after all, but also not far from the industrial district.

Additionally, these buildings were not in the Basilicom's possession; the real estate was divided between a small group of citizens. She was rather glad she choose this place, considering how nice her landlady was. The older woman even offered to clean her place once in a while, which basically allowed Christine to journey for as long as she liked.

With that in mind and a smile on her face, the redhead entered and rung the first doorbell to her right; she had to wait only a few seconds before a tall woman with short, brown hair opened up.

The first words that woman spoke were almost routine to them by now: "Oh my, you're back."

She did not change much at all; standing more than a head taller than Christine, Erika Berg was an impressive sight just as usual. Her hair had grown a little longer than shoulder length and she was clad in a pair of blue jeans as well as a slim shirt, which did nothing to conceal her muscles. Christine was used to the sight though, so she just nodded in confirmation. "I just wanted to drop by and say hello, Ms. Berg. Am I interrupting?

The older one just rolled her eyes and motioned for Christine to come inside. "When do you ever interrupt, dear? It's not as if there's much going on in my life anyway. Come on in, I want to hear what you've been up to."

Christine chuckled and complied, leaving backpack and violin case next to her shoes besides the door; her landlady might look like an amazon and was as strong from her daily work at Xanadu factory, but she was a gentle being overall. "Been there, done that; just the usual, really. If you're really that interested, I can give you the manuscript once it's ready."

"I'm looking forward to that." Now it was for Erika to chuckle; the brunette was the only person Christine allowed to look at those manuscripts, mostly as thanks for looking after her place while she was absent. The redhead carried several small booklets full of notes about her recent adventure, so she would at least get one decent-sized manuscript out of them. Probably two or three, considering the previous volumes.

She sat down at the kitchen table and got a glass of cold juice handed to her, then the older woman took the opposite seat with a wide smile. "So, how long will you be around this time? The usual month to write your manuscripts and off you go?"

That was actually something Christine had hoped to get around for now. She absent-mindedly rubbed her thigh and shook her head. "Nah... no, not this time. I'm staying at least three months, probably longer."

This got her a surprised look from the brunette, who took a swig from her own cup. Orange juice really was refreshing on a summer day like this one. "Really? That's surprising... you're not getting sick, are you?"

She knew well how unusual this was for her; Christine never stayed longer than a single month, the time lately spent writing for all the people that seemed to enjoy reading about her adventures. She always grew tired of the city very quickly once that month was over.

But...

"Oh well, I just reached my limits at this point. I'm already twenty five, so maybe I should start looking for a nice man or woman; I can't stay an adventurer forever." Her words were the truth, if not everything there was. Erika just nodded understandingly. There was only so much one could do as an adventurer; traveling with others was interesting, but most people could not keep up with Christine or were unwilling to plunge as deep into the wilderness as she did.

Being on her own had been fun and all, but it also led to the long scar on her thigh she just realised she was touching again.

Fenrirs were rare Monsters, but nonetheless terrifying opponents. At least six times as big as the regular Wolves, the one she fought had actually been leading a particularly vicious pack of its smaller brethren. She almost lost the whole leg from its attack and was lucky that had happened closer to a city than her journey usually went. Bleeding out in the wilderness did not sound like an end Christine would favour.

She had no desire to go out again.

**::**

The two of them did some catching up, but Christine soon excused herself to go and work on her manuscript. It was on a whim that she started doing this, but it was a nice thing to do; people liked the stories and it gave her an additional income.

Before she did anything else however, the redhead unpacked; her dirty spare clothes were quickly sorted out and brought down to the washing machine in the basement; the remaining food wandered into the fridge and what few souvenirs she brought went into the cabinet alongside her sword. At the last stop, Christine cast a glance at the pictures she placed in there as well.

It was her own face that looked back, years younger and with her hair far longer. The younger Christine was cheerfully smiling into the camera and surrounded by her friends from the Guild.

_Ah, yes_. She remembered the time right after her graduation; it had been nice and relaxing until she started adventuring. She stopped wearing dresses even earlier, but her long hair had to go as well at this point; it was too much of a hindrance when fighting alone, not to speak of how long it took to care for. A shame, seeing how fond she was of it.

Following the trip down memory lane, Christine got started on her manuscript; while copying her notes however, the redhead kept thinking about her situation. Skill alone was what saved her against this Fenrir; the very same skill that made her uncontested in a duel against basically anyone.

She wondered whether she should start visiting the guild; she got along well with most of the agents and people knew her as the perfect first opponent for basically anyone new; no matter how good they were or how highly they thought of their abilities, Christine could push them down a few notches with a crushing defeat.

On the other hand, most people kept their distance to her because she was unreached in her swordsmanship. She had no idea whether that was intentional or not, though.

Shaking off the thought, Christine went back to writing. It was not long before she was interrupted, though; the doorbell rung, making her quickly stop to open for the landlady, who smiled at her apologeptically. "Sorry to interrupt you already. I just remembered, there was a young lady asking for you last month."

That was not exactly the interruption she expected; thinking back, the redhead could not remember having saved any of her fellow adventurers from trouble recently, so she wondered who that might have been? "I... see? Did she say what she wanted?"

The brunette only shrugged in response. "No idea, really. She left her phone number and said to call her once you're back. Here you go." She was handed a strip of paper and looked at it while Erika nodded to herself. "Anyway, I'm off to buy groceries now. See you around, dear."

They exchanged waves and Christine closed the door, still wondering just who might be interested in her. The few friends she stayed in contact with all knew how to reach her, so it was none of them; but who else might it be?

The redhead wandered back into her living room and slumped down on the couch; she would have liked to return to her computer and carry on, but this was an intriguing prospect right there. After all, curiousity brought Christine to explore Gamindustri in the first place.

She cast another glance at the open text document and the booklet holding her notes, then looked down at the paper in her hands.

There was no helping it. With a quick flick of her wrist, the redhead brought out her cellphone and snapped it open. She needed a moment to type in the number, but her call was answered almost immediately.

"Hello?" The voice did belong to a woman, so this was probably the right person; one normally noted one's name when accepting a call to prevent misunderstandings, though.

No matter, she would know soon enough. "Ah, good afternoon. The name is Christine Cooper; I heard you have been looking for me last month?" There was a short pause on the other end; she hoped this really was the right number, calling the wrong person could be very embarassing.

"Right, I almost forgot I left my number there. Just a moment, please." There was a faint sound of paper being shuffled around, then the woman on the other end continued: "I'm glad you called after all. You see, I was looking for a challenge and heard you are a skilled swordswoman; are you interested in having a few matches?"

Straight to the point, even though it sounded a little weird. On the other hand, a lot of people dueled Christine before, none of them capable of winning. "Um... I don't mind, really... though I didn't expect this to be about combat practice, to be honest."

The other end responded in an exhausted huff; Christine also realised she never got their name. "For the record, I did try to meet you in person first."

A faint hum of embarassment was registered over the jibe; she deserved that one. "Right..."

She kept quiet for a moment, then added something that was probably important; the memories of her childhood came back up and reminded Christine. Not even the instructors in her classes on swordfighting had managed to defeat her after a certain point. "But still... I should probably warn you, ma'am: I never lost a duel in the last ten years."

Now the other woman chuckled in audible amusement. "I know."

**. .**

**. .**

They talked a little bit longer and agreed on a meeting place; she also learned the name of her soon-to-be opponent. Christine had been looking forward to a good duel for a while now; fighting Monsters was completely different from practicing with other humans.

Now that they met however, the redhead was... conflicted. They met at the local Guild HQ and were wandering through the lower corridors. Almost everyone they walked by cast glances after them, the reasons for that being twofold; for one, about everyone here knew Christine. For two, the woman leading her through the building was gorgeous.

She stood about as tall as the redhead herself, who was already big for a Lastationite woman. Added to that were her smooth skin and well-rounded figure, as well as the ebony hair that she donned in twintails. Her black skirt swished around her calves at every movement and contrasted well with both her skin and the light blue and cream colours of her shirt.

Each step she took seemed precise and perfectly measured; Christine could not deny that this appearance alone already made her attracted to the beauty.

She had introduced herself as Noire both the previous day and a few minutes ago; her red eyes were filled with confidence and vigor when they shook hands and got going. Christine was quite confident in her abilities herself, but other thoughts distracted her for the moment. Maybe this was one of those fated encounters she used to envision? That they met in battle now, only to find something deeper connecting them...

As if. The redhead sighed inaudibly while shaking off her musings; this was not what she was here for, even if it would be nice.

The Guild made sure all its members had enough space and opportunities to exercise and compete with each other; as far as Christine saw on her travels, each main building had at least two gyms, a shooting range and a magic chamber. They were currently on their way toward the arena she used to duel in, though; it was the perfect place to test their skill against each other, seeing that singular cells could be rented for a set time. In fact, it was a clever way of controlling battles between human combatants; the events were recorded by security cameras and the medical wing was nearby in case something went wrong.

The two women still wandered toward their destination and a steadily growing crowd was following them. Noire noticed it as well and cast a glance her way. "You sure are popular around here."

The redhead nodded a bit sheepishly and hoped she was not blushing. Not that she minded being in the center of attention, she was used to that. Though this was still a bit different.

When they finally reached the large hall, most of the separated cells were empty. White light shone down from the ceiling, all lamps placed in equidistant intervals to make sure conditions were equal everywhere. Aside from that, the greyish walls were bare in here.

Noire walked up to the counter with her usual stride. "I would like to have the main cell for thirty minutes." Christine raised an eyebrow at that; most cells were ten times ten metres big, which was usually enough space for a fight in close combat. The main cell, basically what all the others were grouped around, had thrice this size. Thirty minutes was the minimum time available as well; this would apparently be only a few matches. Or one long match.

"No problem, here you go." The key was handed over while Noire placed the regular fee on the counter, then the clerk smiled at her a bit mischievously. "And good luck. You'll need it, ma'am."

"Oh? We will see about that." A few out of the crowd on their heels snickered, but neither woman paid them any mind; Christine motioned toward where the main cell was located and the two got going again. Right outside of the rounded-out room however, Noire quickly went over to the terminal while the redhead produced her blade and double-checked it once more. Lastation-made weapons rarely gave in easily, but she did not want to risk anything.

"Do you mind if I turn spectating off? This is not supposed to be a show."

"I don't mind at all. Sorry, everyone!"

There was some muttering from behind them, but no one spoke up; she could not really blame them, though. People liked watching a good fight without greater risks attached to it. The two dozen men and women took it in stride, though; they waved her goodbye and left them to their own devices.

Noire seemed to be done and waved her over, not yet drawing her own blade from the sheath at her hips. "I'm ready when you are... although, why a violin case?" That was the first question anyone asked.

Christine already suspected it to come at some point, so she just said what she always did: "First I did it to have some more room for provisions. And it stuck, so I never stopped."

"Hm... interesting." The other woman gave her a nod and motioned for the entrance, then walked inside; she followed a moment later.

They would start now; Christine felt her anticipation rising, knowing that this opponent would be unlike anyone she ever faced before. She had no idea how she knew, perhaps through intuition, but there was no denying it. One could tell from how Noire held herself; the confident smirk, her evenly paced stride, the practiced motion of drawing her blade and bringing it up in a single movement, all of those confirmed what the redhead already knew.

The doors closed with a clicking noise and they were alone in the circular room, swords drawn. The noise signalled the beginning of their match and Christine slowly inched sideways to gauge her opponent; Noire moved in the opposite direction, her blade held defensively. She was doing the same.

They drew a full circle around the room before the other woman struck. But when she did, she dashed forward on high speed; Christine quickly adjusted her weapon, taking one, two, three hits and then another two from a slightly different angle. Each parry forced her a step backward, closer to the wall, but Noire retreated out of range before she could move to retaliate.

The black-haired woman held her blade in a defensive stance and they measured each other again. Christine had trouble getting a feeling of how her opponent fought, which was bad. She had to feel the flow of battle to influence it properly.

Neither of them spoke, but Christine acted the moment her opponent moved for another attack, quickly dashing forward and striking thrice at Noire's center. Her swings came with force, but were deflected effortlessly while the other woman took a step back, then used the distance to put more force into her next swing.

Christine leaped aside with all the speed she could muster, barely evading the sharp steel; the redhead turned her fall into a roll and came back up to block another flurry of strikes. Getting back to her feet with the fourth and disengaging with the fifth attack, she tried to disrupt her opponent with a feint to the right. No such luck though, as Noire ignored the movement and struck again with force. Her blade was smashed aside and she could feel the impact in her whole arm.

She had to get some distance, but trying to cartwheel away from her opponent only brought her a strong shove right before her feet left the ground. Christine heavily impacted with the floor and felt the force press all air out of her lungs. Beads of sweat began to roll down ther forehead, now that she was no longer moving.

Above her stood Noire, breathing evenly and without even a trace of sweat. She merely blew a loose strand of hair out of her face, then smiled down at the redhead while holding out a hand to her. "I think you're holding back on me."

It took her a while to register the gesture; Christine had trouble comprehending what just happened. She was beaten just like that, without even a sign of effort. She always thought she was rather strong, but this, this was incredible and devastating. Her skill with a sword was something she was proud of, to see someone defeat her this easily... almost hurt.

Slowly, the redhead began to register the words spoken to her and took the offered hand. Noire might be on a wholly different level, but she had been right just now; Christine _was_ holding back.

The other woman took a look around while she caught her breath and took a stance again. "I want to see your full power this time, although we have to be careful not to destroy the place."

She slowly calmed her breething and felt for the power within herself. Christine knew it was there, just waiting to be given form; energy began to surge through her body, joining together from every cell before exploding outward. Her very soul erupted and began to sing the song of battle.

Noire just watched as the aura seeped out from her skin, a clear blue as deep as the ocean; it rolled around the adventurer like mist, brimming with power. She could feel it, the incredible strength it gave her.

"I thought so." The other woman smiled while saying this; had she really expected her to have Awakened? Christine had to ask about this later, when her power boost was not actively draining her stamina. She took another slow breath, then raised her blade again and calmly measured her opponent. There was nothing like this strength, for just one in a million people possessed it.

"I hope you truly are as strong as you appear. This might end messily if you aren't."

Noire had made no attempt to use her own Awakening up until this point and Christine's warning did not make her do so, either; either she could not do it or thought she did not need it. Whatever the case, Christine pounced the moment the last word left her mouth. Everything started to slow down; the redhead began to percieve her surroundings at speeds unavailable to any mere human.

She threw herself forwards with a quick slash, meant to disarm her slowed opponent. Only that Noire was not any slower; she swiftly adjusted her stance and parried the slash, then the follow-up strike and the next ten stabs Christine threw out in a heartbeat. It forced her back several steps and the redhead quickly circled around for another attack; Noire continued to deflect the heavy blows, but was pushed back without a chance to counter any of them. Miniature shockwaves from her strikes hit the walls and ground, leaving fine lines etched into them.

It was a veritable rain of steel that came down on the other woman, yet she left not a single opening in her stance no matter how often Christine struck. She did not think anymore, she just felt the flow of battle and moved further; her opponent had to make a mistake eventually.

When she lined up her next strike and already prepared for the following two, their blades met and the sheer force behind Noire's parry forced the redhead's weapon aside; she lost her grasp on it and it rocketed away.

Even with her heightened senses, Christine could barely even register what happened before the other woman slammed her sword's butt into her stomach; pain exploded from Christine's center and every last bit of air was pushed out of her chest. Had it not been the force of the punch to send her to the ground already, she would have fallen anyway; her mind drew a blank while she desperately gasped for air, pain rolling through her.

She had no idea how long she was just lying there, trying to get her breathing under control. No one disturbed her in the time she needed.

She lost.

That was Christine's first coherent thought as the pain subsided slowly, ever deeper breaths forcing oxygen into her lungs. The world had returned to its regular speed, her Awakening cancelled the moment she could no longer keep it up.

Noire stood a bit to the side, sword lowered and the other hand on her chest. The other woman seemed to calm her own breath at the moment; however, Christine could not see even the slightest bit of sweat on her. She wondered just how anyone could be that strong; the redhead's clothes were soaked from how much she had been sweating!

They remained for themselves a little longer, then Noire looked over and smiled at her; Christine was not sure why the other woman looked so proud, but she smiled back anyway. There was a strange warmth within her.

This was her first defeat in a duel, but, instead of being disappointed as she always thought she might be, Christine was happy that she found her better at last. Noire calmly walked closer and offered a hand to the redhead, who took it gratefully and was pulled up to her feet. "How do you feel? Any injuries?"

She thought about this for a moment and carefully felt over her sensitive abdomen; it did tingle in pain, but only very little compared to how she felt a few minutes earlier. This hit she got was strong enough to break the Awakening's defensive layer, yet the defenses apparently slowed it down quite a bit. "No, I don't think so."

Noire looked as if she wanted to say something, but appeared to reconsider before continuing: "Good. I guess we have neither time nor the ability for another match, so let's get going."

**::**

Of course it was a known fact that duels should not be held in new or fancy clothes; chances for those to get torn up were simply too high. People that came to duel also brought a change of clothes for the same reason; the Guild featured a large bath for combatants to wash up afterwards. It was a real blessing to take a hot shower after such an exercise; such were Christine's thoughts on the matter.

She took her time under the water, more than ten minutes overall; traveling around in the wilderness came with the disadvantage of having to make do with what she found. The redhead made it a habit of spending as little time as possible on hygiene ever since a few wolves and boxbirds surprised her during a bath. That was... an experience she much preferred not to ever repeat.

After drying herself and donning another set of clothes, she met up with Noire and the two of them got going; for some reason, the other woman wanted to see her place. "There is something I want to talk to you about in private", was what she said about it.

So now they were back at Christine's place, her visitor curiously looking around the living room while the redhead herself was... nervous. She had dismissed the thought earlier, but what if Noire was actually interested in her as well?

In the end, she decided those thoughts had to wait until she actually knew what this was about. Christine closed her eyes for a moment, then showed a big smile again. "But really, this was an incredible fight. I never saw anyone that strong or fast before."

In fact, that last blow from Noire had dented her blade; high-quality steel from a renowned blacksmith, bent out of shape where any normal sword would have broken into pieces. It was impressive.

The black-haired woman turned her head and smiled in return. "Yes, that it was indeed."

And then Noire began to glow, her silhouette basked in silver light. The casual clothes melted into a new form, becoming an elaborate black dress. Her hair became lose and turned silvery while the cloth draped around her immaculate, rosy skin.

Her aura hit Christine the very same moment, this basic understanding of a higher being standing in front of her; she felt it before, though never at this intensity. It made sense, seeing that she never stood right in front of her Lady.

The redhead was speechless, managing little more than keeping her mouth shut while staring at the CPU before her in awe. It was the same features but more regal, the same red eyes but basked in an ethereal gleam.

"You did not manage to land a single hit on me," the mesmerising figure spoke in a deep and enamoring voice; Christine could only continue staring. "But that was to be expected. Nonetheless... it has been a long while since I saw a human being fight with the same ferocity I am used to seeing from Purple Heart."

Black Heart paused here while the redhead tried to parse what was said; she was supposed to match a CPU in something? Could something like this even happen? She felt her legs shake and quickly sat down on the couch, her Lady's watchful gaze never leaving her. Christine was astonished beyond words and the presence of a goddess did its part in suppressing any words she might speak.

Black Heart, however, smiled. "I can see that this was a bit much all at once. You can probably guess that I have not come just for a friendly spar by now."

It did make sense, although she was still busy trying to get her thoughts in order; Christine never thought that a CPU's aura could be this oppressive despite being gentle, even though she heard other people talk about it before.

When she did not answer, the ruler of Lastation continued: "Now that I know your abilities are not just exaggerated, I want you to become one of my Makers. InterZip left a hole in the group with his death, but I believe you would make a wonderful addition to it."

"...Huh?" Was she dreaming? Not only was her goddess standing in the same room after thrashing her in a spar, she offered her a place among the Makers? Only the very best in the whole world could even hope to be called to service. Christine only blinked at her Lady a few times and slowly managed to get a hold of herself; thankfully, Black Heart gave her the time to do so.

"I, I don't know what to say... my Lady." This was the first thing she got out after a while filled with silence and controlled breathing and after pinching her arm hard; the stinging pain proved that no, she was not asleep. This was actually happening!

"Then take your time." The CPU remained standing in front of her, arms held loosely. Christine took her up on the offer and closed her eyes for a bit; it did not help with the feeling of power in front of her, but her quickly beating heart began to slow down at last.

Once she felt ready, the redhead opened her eyes again and slowly got up; her legs were still shaky, but she could stand. Black Heart was where she last saw her, patiently waiting for her to respond. Yet she did not know to say; a chance like this would definitely never come again, but was she really good enough for the Makers? Considering that her Lady was unlikely to be wrong, she would guess so. But then again, they had never met before.

"I thought only those the CPU trusts are appointed as Makers... I mean..." She stopped when Black Heart's lips curled into a smile. The goddess smoothed out her dress while slowly walking around the room. "Of course we have to be able to trust our Makers. With how we choose however, there has yet to be a single person we can not end up trusting. I doubt I made a mistake in choosing you, even if this is our first meeting. I read your books; they say a lot about you, even if you rarely speak about yourself."

Instead of being surprised once again, the redhead quickly pushed the feeling aside and sighed before moving toward where the Lady regarded a few pictures of her family.

Christine already decided to quit being an adventurer. Nonetheless, this sounded like an adventure she would like to pursue. This time with others who could keep up and under her Lady's orders. Which sane person would not agree?

With that in mind, she bowed deeply before Black Heart, her aching body returning to her attention only now. "I would be honoured to serve, my Lady."

"Then stand. My Makers do not bow to anyone." Her voice was calm, but also warm. Christine quickly straightened up while a smile began to form on her face as well. The CPU was looking at her again. "I will return to Nordral in a bit and take care of the necessary paperwork. Get everything in order and decide on a name, we can talk about the details later. I want you over there in a week at most."

Christine quickly nodded while an old thought returned from the depth of her memory. There was no real need to think of a name here, she realised. "Actually, I think I already know which name I want."

"Oh?" The Lady regarded her with a mixture of surprise and curiousity, motioning to continue. Christine herself was a little embarassed now, considering that she just went with it on a whim. That did not stop her from speaking, though. "I would like to be named 'Falcom' while serving."

Black Heart thought about the name for a moment, then nodded at the redhead. "It sounds well enough. Is that a nickname people used to call you?"

She heard a rumour that many Makers chose their names because of that, which was apparently true. Christine shook her head; she never really had anyone to call her by that name. "Not really. I just like how it sounds is all."

She sheepishly scratched her head while the CPU just shook hers. "Seriously... but very well. Falcom it shall be."

Christine nodded happily. This was probably the best day she ever had, even though it meant she had to leave her hometown at last. Not that it would make much of a difference with how rarely she was around before. Everyone should be excited and happy about the whole thing.


	18. As Time Passes 1

_Spellpower (SP) is the unit of magical energy. Having SP is the sole requirement for being able to cast magic, though higher amounts allow for more powerful or further prolonged usages. There is no known way to obtain SP when born without, neither can it be increased in life. Contrary to the progression seen in video games with a magic system, one's SP are set at birth._

-Excerpt from "Arcane Theory Vol.1"

* * *

Four years ago, it would have bothered her. Nine days ago, before the dragon, she would not have minded it. In this very moment, IF had returned to being bothered, if for different reasons than in the past.

Little more than a week had passed since that eventful day; with being excused from work until June, a reward issued by Histoire herself, IF was drowning in free time at the moment. She also suddenly found herself with money to spend, seeing that all other agents had forfeited the bounty and Nepgear outright refused it. Five thousand Credits for an Ancient Dragon, which was _a lot _of money.

What was more, she had been awarded the Planeptunian Cross for outstanding valour and ability; the medal was currently sitting in her pocket until she finally decided what to do with it. At least Neptune was kind enough not to make that one a public matter.

Granted, it was not the free time or the money that bothered IF this day. After completing her morning exercises, she had gone to have breakfast with everyone else. Like every morning, she was swamped in younger children before she even found a place to sit, being asked about the dragon at length.

It had been cute the first day, but she was decidedly annoyed about it by this point. Though she rather bore it stoically instead of telling them off; being curious was not a sin after all. At least for the children.

As it turned out, the scouting drones already nearby had recorded the entire fight. Almost from the dragon's appearance, up until its death. Neptune had already admitted to be the one who leaked parts of it to the general public; it spread everywhere within hours, from Chirper to Wahoo. The purplette had cheerfully admitted it without much prompting, noting that IF deserved the recognition especially after she turned down the ceremony for her medal.

At this point, the brunette had given three interviews on the matter and people greeted her with smiles wherever she went. After so many years of trying not to stand out too much, this constant surge of attention made her feel decidedly weird. IF did note to herself that it was not a bad feeling, though. Looking at herself, she found that this may have been another step to fulfill her dream.

After indulging the children for a bit, she finally got to eat; or she would have, had her phone not rung the moment she took the first bite out of her bread. IF's nostril's flared a little as she fished for the device, flipping it open to reveal a caller ID, but she finished chewing before taking the call. "Hey, Compa. What's up?" Keeping the annoyance about yet another interruption out of her voice was a difficult task. Mari threw her a knowing smile, though; IF just grimaced back at her, which made the pinkette chuckle.

On the other hand, Compa might not even have noticed. "Hello, Iffy! I was thinking we could do something today? Most of my plans just got nixed because the others got sick recently, so I have time and I know you do, too." IF just rolled her eyes, though she did not disagree. Knowing that this would at least give her something to do, the brunette did not mind. "Sure. You said 'most'?"

"Yup," the other girl confirmed cheerfully. "I'm attending a sermon in a few minutes and need to run an errand after that, so how about around noon?" Her mentioning religion brought IF's mind back to the two deities she was acquainted with, a thought she quickly banished to elsewhere. Getting used to this remained difficult, though she had not heard from Nepgear for the last few days. "Sounds good, do we meet at the usual place?"

**. .**

**. .**

It was past noon when they finally met, though not by much. The sun stood high, if partly covered by dark clouds; heavy rain had been mentioned in the weather forecast.

As the two girls entered the mall however, the bustling stream of people parted before IF; she was given appreciative nods, smiles and waves as everyone offered her some more space. Compa giggled the whole way toward the first store, clearly amused about her friend's misery mixed with embarassment.

"Heh, you're a hero now," she noted as they left the main crowd behind. IF just rolled her eyes and looked over the various summer clothes on display, wondering if being away from the people was really worth it. "It's nothing that fancy. Everyone will have forgotten about it in a bit." She did not particularly want this to go on for much longer anyway, even though some part of her already suspected that it would be the same if... _when_ she became a Maker.

"I guess they might... but I won't." The only hint as to Compa's mood was in the absence of her usual smile; she appeared more serious, though she continued to go through an assortment of simple sundresses. "I thought I'd never see you again, both of you."

IF cringed at the audible hurt in her friend's voice. "...sorry." She did remember a hundred and thirty pounds of relieved Compa impacting her chest once they returned, and how happy the girl had been to see her. While it was touching, what confused IF a little about this was how Compa seemed to care more about this than the girl herself did: even after a few days, once the shock should have definitely worn off, there was no terrified shuddering, flashbacks, or even just an uncomfortable feeling when talking about it.

Not knowing better, IF had excused this peculiarity with the following shock of Nepgear's apotheosis, it having somehow overridden the reaction to her near-death.

"It's fine, I guess, just, I don't have any other friends going for the Guild, so I never really had to think about it before. It's hard to imagine that you might just be... _not there_ someday." Compa mumbled quietly with her hands resting on a dark yellow dress, but looked up when IF clapped a hand on her shoulder.

The brunette gave her a level look before shaking her head. "Don't think about it like this. In fact, you shouldn't think about it at all. I'm not planning to die anytime soon, so you shouldn't start expecting I do. That's probably not healthy in the first place."

The smaller girl blinked at her, the puzzlement quickly draining from her expression. When Compa smiled, so did IF. An elderly woman nearby who heard their exchange nodded sagely before wandering off, leaving the girls to their conversation.

After a moment, IF decided to make sure her friend stopped that train of thought and pointed at one of the dresses. "Mind giving me that one? I might as well..." She paused over seeing the gleeful twinkle in Compa's eyes, how her lips curled further up, and realised this would be a long day. Then again, it beat having to comfort her friend over something out of their hands.

So as she was stuffed into dress after dress, the brunette bore with it and decided to just make conversation. "In hindsight, I feel stupid for having kept quiet about my magic. Lady Histoire was not even surprised when I told her, so she probably knew it already. Then she made me take an SP-check."

Compa, who had been fussing with the navy blue dress to hand her next, blinked at IF. "Oh, right. I completely forgot; Nep-Nep said something like that. Uh, did they really force you to do it?"

The brunette shrugged with a grimace as she looked herself over in the mirror. "Kind of? Of course she didn't actually say it, but she was all polite and said it 'would be helpful'. You know, this, uh, Mom-tone that Mrs. Bonnaire had when someone misbehaved?"

"Oooh." Compa nodded in understanding at the memory of the old teacher before handing over the next dress. IF sighed and returned into the changing booth, though her mind remained with the subject. She was still glad there were no actual repercussions for keeping her magic to herself, though Neptune mentioned it was only because no one else got hurt by it in the past.

"So you made an appointment, right?" IF was glad for the curtain separating them, seeing that it hid her embarassment. Not that Compa seemed to mind, seeing that she continued to chatter while the brunette changed. "What's your SP like? I'm sure it must be a lot. My own is pretty normal, short of three fifty, so maybe you are up in four digits?" She faintly recalled having a similar conversation before, but did not respond for now. After working herself into the blue one, she left the safety of her changing booth with a mumbled response.

"Oh, that one looks good on you!" Compa marveled for a moment, then blinked and rolled her eyes to the side in thought. "Um, could you repeat that? I didn't hear it properly." IF suppressed a sigh over that, having hoped she would get around the matter somehow. Only her superior force of will allowed the girl not to fidget like sixteen-year-old Nepgear would have.

She still averted her gaze. "Three five oh one." And her voice remained a whisper.

Compa's eyes bulged at the number. 3,501. They both knew this amount was already beyond prodigious; even Lowee's Nishizawa-family, the renowned bloodline of powerful mages, rarely reached 3,000. It was not unmatched, but certainly up there.

Now that IF knew, she wondered how her life might have turned out if she embraced being a mage instead of the path she chose. She rarely examined this train of thought further, though; what was done was done.

"Three... really?" At IF's nod, Compa took a deep breath. "Wow. That's insane."

The brunette just snorted as she picked up a pair of shorts and a shirt. "Tell me about it, I had to come back the day after to verify the number, with another machine, then they had Histoire scan me to triple-check. And then everyone flipped because what are the odds?" She had already vanished into the changing booth by the time she finished; Compa had begun to giggle at the end.

"You're always full of surprises, you know?" IF let that stand; she did not really have a good answer anyway.

After slipping into the next set, she lightly stepped out of the booth to look at herself. "I actually looked up some SP-rankings." Seeing Compa become attentive in her peripheral vision, the brunette played with her ponytail for a moment. "I know it's just the people that made their scores public, but still... there were two I do not recognise at all around that level. Aside from them, Lowee's last oracle, Nishizawa Keiko, is actually close to four thousand. And Lady Broccoli is right behind her."

"What about MAGES.?" Compa's question made her snort; IF had had the same thought. "Not quite at three thousand, with Lowee's current Oracle Mina just a bit beyond that mark. Half of that list was Nishizawas anyway." They shared a laugh over that.

Then Compa perked up with a gleeful expression. "Oh, I just realised we can play spellball together!" She wilted immediately at the sour look IF threw her way. "Or... not?"

The brunette sighed and went back to change into her own clothes. "My fine control is laughable. I would be more likely to set you on fire, so no. No magic from me except for killing monsters." The light edge in her voice told Compa to drop the matter.

**. .**

**. .**

After both of them went through an assortment of different outfits, one of which IF actually purchased, they were out in the mall again and looking for something else to do. As their conversation stalled, she decided to approach another topic. "Have you heard from Nepgear the last few days?"

Her friend actually took a moment to think, then shook her head. "Not really, no. Did something happen?" Now IF had to shake hers in return; the last time she saw Nepgear was the few minutes after meeting up with Compa back on that day, then both CPUs went off for some kind of errand that she suspected was an excuse.

Nonetheless, not hearing from her for that long was worrying in a way, especially with the trouble Nepgear had in addressing the matter of her divinity before. After a moment of thought, IF sighed and motioned Compa forward. "You know what? I'm going to call her, so you go ahead and get us some seats in the cafe over there."

She did as asked without question, leaving IF to lean on a cold metal wall; people still threw glances and smiles her way, but she put those out of her mind for the time being. A few quick taps on her phone and she got to Nepgear's number, one of the few she had in total. IF had thought of doing this before, but put it off under the assumption that her lilac-haired friend was just busy.

The phone rang once, twice, and her call was picked up. "Hello? IF?" Her voice was unmistakable, though weaker than the human girl had ever heard before.

"Yeah, it's me. I was wondering what you were up to." She _wanted_ to ask about what was going on, but that sounded a little pushy in her own mind. So IF hoped that her intention was picked up on.

Nepgear groaned and there was a little static, then a sigh. "Nothing, I feel awful. I got sick the night after the dragon and have been at home ever since. Sis wouldn't let me leave even if I wanted to and trust me, I don't."

For a moment, IF wondered what kind of sickness could strike down a CPU like that, then the question was replaced by sympathy. "Ouch. Sorry to hear that. It's nothing serious, right?"

There was a momentary pause before she got her response: "Oh, no. It is not serious, just, mmh, time-consuming."

The girl gasped, then IF could only hear static for a second. When it stopped and Nepgear returned, she sounded a bit healthier. "Sorry, I dropped the phone." By now, IF really wondered what kind of sickness could lead to such a situation. Before she managed to make up her mind however, the phone was snatched from Nepgear's hands and another familiar voice cheered into her ear. "Hey Iffy!"

She picked it up from there without any problems. "Hey, Nep. I didn't know you're at home, too." The CPU was supposed to be really busy after all. That aside, IF had things like these happen to her far too often to let them faze her.

"Of course I am," the smaller woman replied with mock hurt. "I'm not gonna leave my cute sister all alone and helpless; some deviant might show up to take advantage and pamper her while I'm not looking!"

She sounded actually scandalised about the idea, which made IF chuckle despite herself. "I see. What's up with her?"

Neptune paused for an instant, then she chirped back a little more subdued. "Y'know, that's the kind of thing you got to see for yourself. How about you drop by? Compa too, if she wants to."

Her words came unexpected; she had just offered an invitation to the place CPUs lived, which IF had not expected to ever see just two weeks ago. It was both a humble and silly thought, considering that neither of those sisters seemed to mind. "Okay, I guess?"

"Great!" Neptune was back to full-on cheerful immediately. "Just come by Planeptower a little later; send me a text once you're there and I'll come get you. See you soon~" IF huffed and said her own goodbyes, then she hung up and put the phone away with a thoughtful expression. She could not deny being intrigued about seeing how deities lived.

That was another important point to her recent musings; despite the fact she now knew the people behind the faces, her faith had not wavered. For all the goofy behaviour Neptune displayed normally, she did good work as Purple Heart and that was enough for IF.

That did not mean the difference between those two was not jarring; it would take a while for her to get used to this.

**. .**

**. .**

An hour later, IF slowly closed in on Planeptower by herself. After explaining the situation to Compa, her friend had insisted she go first; "If someone is sick, they shouldn't have too many people at once," was what she said. She then excused herself with the fact she had planned to do some housework anyway.

It remained somewhat amusing to IF that her friend likely would have reacted much differently, had she known that their mutual friend was Planeptune's CPU Candidate.

The young warrior soon reached the tower proper, no longer being able to see its top from where she stood in front of it. She recalled that this was Gamindustri's tallest building, reaching a full kilometre into the sky. The metal canopy that billowed out to cover most of the inner city and protect it from rain connected to the main tower just a few dozen metres above; though she could not see it, IF knew that its top was packed with solar panels.

It had started to rain as she closed, the drops producing a constant drumming on the metal up above; as the canopy caught them, they gushed down into transparent pipes leading into the ground. This water was flowing right into Nicos' geothermal power plants, deep below the city proper.

"Hey Iffy!" Neptune's cheerful call pushed the girl out of her marveling; she rarely came this close to the Basilicom, mostly because she just had no business here. She was not the type to go to sermons and all the other things she could do at this place felt like a waste of time normally.

This time, she was visiting a friend. IF turned to return Neptune's wave, catching the ballistic purplette in a thwarted tacklehug. "Hey, Nep. Good to see you, too."

The small CPU pouted for a moment, then she returned to being all smiles and hopped to the ground. "Yup, let's get going!" Following those words, a slightly amused IF was pulled past sliding doors and into the large main area. Hundreds of clerks were at work, most of the counters manned and in use by citizens of all ages and genders. IF got a few glances as people recognised her, but this was it. No one batted an eye when they marched straight past that and toward the elevator shafts.

Dozens of elevators led up and down the central axis of Planeptower, many of them transporting tourists, faithful, or citizens between the main area and any given part that was open to the public. Of the Basilicom's four hundred floors, there were dozens where anyone could go. Sermons were held here and observation decks allowed to look out over the city. The upper floors were mainly locked to the public, and the three floors above four hundred were not even on the panels.

Neptune pushed her into a smaller elevator made for up to four people. No one else entered with them and once the doors closed, IF was given a mischievous smirk. "Now I'll show you my great secret, Iffy. Behold, the path toward my sanctum!" Then she pressed the 400 and held it, before also pressing 3 with her other hand. The doors immediately locked and 403 was displayed as their target floor.

IF blinked at the strange scene for a moment, then she sighed and put a hand on her face. "Of course, why am I even surprised." It made perfect sense that Neptune would hide the way to her own home behind something like that. "How many children found out about this by playing around?"

Her friend giggled over the question, but waved her hand in a so-so motion as she did. "A few?"

Their conversation stalled a little as the numbers ticked by; IF felt a little dizzy from their rapid ascend, but shook that off quickly.

Once the elevator dinged and its doors opened, they were released into a brightly coloured living room. They were in a small indentation in the wall, looking over everything.

After a nudge from Neptune, IF reluctantly stepped out on the wooden floor covering the indentation and left her shoes at the rack helpfully placed there. Her guide simply made her shoes vanish and ran around on striped socks, opening her arms wide to encompass the room. "So, what do you think?"

A wide, black couch took the room's center, with a large TV in front of it and several gaming consoles neatly arrayed on the deep green carpet. Back toward the silvery white walls stood a table made of dark wood, with four matching chairs standing around it. "Honestly, I'm mostly surprised there is no pink or purple here."

While Neptune chortled over the admission, IF looked some more and found three doors leading to other rooms, plus one behind her next to the elevator shaft that probably led downward. She also found two large windows that allowed to look out and over Nicos, far beyond the city border.

"Where do the doors lead to?" Her question made Neptune snap out of her mirth, the purplette following IF's gaze before answering: "oh, that's the kitchen, the restroom, and our bedroom. We technically don't need the first two, but I rather have them for my guests. The one over there," at which she pointed behind herself with a thumb, "goes down to the guest rooms and our offices. And Histy's bedroom, of course." It took the brunette a moment longer than she would have liked to figure out who 'Histy' was supposed to be.

Neptune quickly ushered her through the door left of the elevator's niche, into a spacious bedroom. _This_ was where the pink and purple had been applied, and in great quantities at that. A few tinges of beige could be found among the furniture as well, but that was about it. The wooden floor was almost entirely covered by a wide, pinkish white carpet with a large heart in its center.

Much to IF's surprise, she did not find two queen-sized beds like she imagined; instead, the sisters were apparently sleeping in bunk beds. In hindsight, she realised she should have known.

Nepgear was present as well, tucked into the lower bunk and with a purple quilt pulled up to her nose. The visible half of her face was somewhat pale, but her lilac eyes were on them the moment they entered. Light purple hair spilled down from her pillow, ruffled and in disorder but still silky. "Oh, hello. How have you been?" Her voice was not weak but tired, the girl slowly pulling back the quilt from her mouth.

Seeing that she made no attempt to get up, IF wandered over and sat down in the chair by her side. "Probably better than you." Not one but two pairs of eyes remained on her the entire time, though Neptune hid it well and sat down at Nepgear's bedside. At least IF's comment made the sick girl smile a little.

After taking a critical look over her friend, the brunette found no actual sign of _what_ illness she caught. That was why she turned a questioning look to Neptune. "What is it? Last time I checked, CPUs don't get sick like humans do."

The purplette gave her a nod and pointed at her younger sister. "That's true. Nepgear's got transformation sickness. It's a one-time thing for all CPUs and comes up right after their apotheosis. Nepgear keeps transforming uncontrollably, which is ultimately harmless but tiring on her... and it'll take another two weeks or so until it's over."

IF hummed in response, taking another look at the slightly dark bags under Nepgear's eyes; her friend remained lying in bed, perfectly still in a way that was actually unsettling.

A moment later, she noticed the reason for that as well: Nepgear was not breathing. Her chest did not move in the slightest, and only the fact her eyes were still wandering between IF and Neptune indicated she was not actually dead.

"Huh... looks like that one was true." She only mumbled under her breath, but the fact both sisters returned their full attention to her made it clear she was heard. IF considered ignoring the beckoning looks, but gave in after a moment. "I read that you guys don't need to breathe."

In response, Nepgear blinked at her before her eyes widened and she quickly got back to breathing while Neptune giggled. "Yeah, we don't," the older CPU told her with a wink. "We still need the air to talk properly, though. And, y'know, it's kind of weird once someone notices the person they're talking to doesn't breathe. Histy doesn't need to, either."

"Quite."

The new voice made all eyes turn toward the door, where a familiar blonde was hovering in the air. Her eyes were closed and she smiled friendly at the room in its entirety. "As I am an existence made of Share Energy just like the CPUs, I, neither, require oxygen. It is a pleasure to meet you up here, Miss Fontaine. Or IF, if I may?"

The young woman had to blink and take in the question for a moment before nodding in surprise. "I don't mind, Lady Histoire."

While she really did not mind her nickname being used by one more person, what sat on IF's thoughts was the fact she never really interacted casually with the Tome. This was the fifth time in total they met, and the first time outside of work or other official purposes.

For some reason, Histoire chuckled behind a tiny hand while the purple sisters tried to hide their mirth. Neither of them gave her any explanation, though; the Tome simply turned to Neptune with slightly narrowed eyes. "That aside, I believe you should get back to work, Neptune."

However, her nudge slash demand made the purplette recoil in mock indignation. "Now hold your horses, Histy! At least lemme make something to eat first!" And with those words, she rushed out of the room at a speed that IF could hardly follow. Histoire huffed, but smiled and shook her head.

The human in the room tried to make sense of everything in the meantime. "Um, I, I thought you don't actually need to eat?"

The remaining two turned their attention to her, nonplussed. "We actually don't," Nepgear noted with a faint shrug. "But it means the world if a CPU takes the time to make you food, even if you don't need it." Her smile became more radiant as she spoke, almost blinding IF and making her understand what this was about.

Histoire simply nodded in agreement. "That is quite true. In addition, while we do not require sustenance, it is a novel experience to eat once in a while. We do have tastebuds after all."

While the little blonde spoke, Nepgear began to glow and transformed, the force throwing her blanket away and leaving her pyjama-clad form on the bed. The young CPU sighed weakly and lay still while IF tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat; keeping her composure while the presence of a goddess weighed on her mind remained almost as difficult the second time it happened. At least there was no second CPU to add to the effect this time, she reasoned.

"You know..." Nepgear trailed off for a moment, eyes darting through the room and following something. Then she slightly shook her head and quickly stilled when that much already made her bed creak. "The worst of it is that I need to learn control all over again. And it is even harder than the first time around. I can not touch anything without a good chance of breaking it."

IF winced over that, giving her friend a sympathetic look. Then she blinked as a question presented itself. "Then how did you hold the phone earlier?"

Nepgear's eyes were on her again, radiant, intimidating, and gentle all at the same time. "Magic. My fine control over my magic is still there, so I used that to keep the phone up. I still can not really move until I get a grip, or I break everything around. And Sis will not let me practice until I am through this sickness."

Her words struck a chord with IF, who knew very well how dangerous a lack of control could be. Her fingers twitched in phantom pain for a moment, the body still recalling what horrifying injuries she brought on herself just a few days ago. Then it was gone, buried by thoughts about other topics. Once IF considered to visit as often as she could, her mind brought up yet another problem.

"What about Compa?" While Neptune said it was okay for her to visit, IF figured that the decision for that should ultimately lie with Nepgear. Her as a coworker and good friend was one thing, but the aspiring nurse with them had spent considerably less time with the purplette. What was more, Compa was quite devout; IF knew from a few sleepovers that her friend prayed before bed every night.

However, Nepgear only smiled while her features returned to their civilian appearance, HDD canceling itself. "It's okay. I was so very worried about how you would react, but with how well it went, I would like to come clear now."

"I see." She did not say any more on the matter, simply accepting her friend's decision.

While Histoire excused herself, Nepgear slowly sat up in bed and offered her a weak smile. "I have to admit that I imagined having my first guest a bit differently, like not being near-catatonic. Well, my first guest not counting Uni."

The name brought back an image of raven hair and piercing red eyes, realisation making IF sigh. "She's Lady Black Sister, isn't she?" Nepgear actually snorted at her defeated tone, but did not refute it. It was so obvious in hindsight that the brunette really wondered how she missed it.

And then Neptune returned with a steaming pot of soup in hands and an assortment of plates, as well as a small table floating after her.

Yet, even over the food, IF could not stop wondering how Compa would take the news. Not necessarily about Nepgear, but about Neptune.


	19. As Time Passes 2

_CPUs rest differently from humans. They require nine hours of rest after 159 hours of activity. In other words, their sleeping cycle consists of exactly seven days. Candidates reach up to half that span before needing rest during adulthood. That is why the gamindustrian week has seven days._

-Histoire

* * *

The day started perfectly normal for her, if tinged with excitement about the fact her eighteenth birthday remained but a few days away.

After hitting the snooze-button on her alarm twice, Colette worked her way out of bed and stretched with a tired sigh; there was not much thought behind the first few minutes after her waking, she simply followed her usual routine. Getting up, slipping into the clothes she laid out the evening before, grumbling about how tight her jeans felt around the hips, and pulling back the curtains to let the sun in.

As the morning light illuminated her room, this young woman enjoyed the warmth for a moment with closed eyes; then she turned and quickly made her bed with practiced motions. A quick glance around the room told her there was no need to clean up just yet, so Compa took a seat on her office chair. She quickly flicked her cellphone open to check for messages and replied to some late-night conversations. There was little else this morning, though.

With a hum, the aspiring nurse snapped the phone shut and got up, leaving the room. She quickly went to the bathroom to wash her face, checking to make sure she was presentable. However, her bedhair had decided it needed the brush.

By the time Compa was done, she could smell freshly baked bread from the kitchen; taking a peek inside, she was greeted with a smile as her grandfather set the table. "There you are, dear. The hair again?" Compa just shrugged, somewhat distracted by the prospect of food; she _was_ hungry, which did not remain unnoticed. The elder obviously understood her plight, seeing that he motioned for her chair. "Sit, everything should be ready in a moment."

She almost did so, but then quickly shook off the lazy air and went around the table to take over the stove. "It's fine, grandpa. I don't mind helping out a little." They both knew this song and dance, seeing that similar scenes had taken place almost every day for several years. Neither argued the matter any further.

Ernest Padmore used to be a robotics major employed by the Basilicom, even having met Purple Heart herself. He had long since retired, somewhat earlier than most could have, to raise his granddaughter. Nonetheless, Compa knew that he still loved his field with a passion; every time he spoke of the things he and his teams worked on, she had tried to read up on robotics herself. Unfortunately, Compa and science did not go too well together outside of biology. Robots required a lot of math.

These days however, the elder Padmore mainly spent his days reading or playing chess.

Once breakfast was ready and both of them sat down, Compa quickly dug in with hunger that only a morning could bring.

"Say," her grandfather spoke up with a curious glance up from his hard-boiled egg after a moment. "Do you have any plans for today?"

Compa hummed through a mouthful of bread and ham, chewing a few more times before swallowing. "It's a pretty full day, actually. Now that all the stuff for nursing school is taken care of, I wanted to go shopping for groceries later. Then I'm meeting Alice and Presea in town... and I'm visiting Nepgear in the afternoon." It had taken her a few days to make enough time, much to her dislike; at least her lilac-haired friend had recuperated somewhat, no longer being confined to bed.

"Hm, care to remind me which one Nepgear was? You have so many friends, dear." He always had trouble remembering everyone she knew, which Compa could understand; she never really tried to moderate her social circle, so it simply grew and grew over the years.

Then again, Nepgear was the kind of girl that stuck in one's memory. As was IF, for that matter. "Oh, Nepgear is the nice purplette that fixed my phone last time it broke. You know, the really pretty one?"

After realising what she just said, again, Compa sighed and slapped her forehead. "You know what I mean."

"That I do, dear. Not to worry, it is just healthy to be lusting after girls as well." She just whined in response while the elder chuckled. "But yes, now I remember her. Heh." And now he looked as if he wanted to say something, though he kept his mouth shut. There was a flicker of mirth in his gaze, so Compa decided not to tempt more teasing by asking.

An hour later, she met up with her friends. Presea and Alice were an interesting pair, even after how long she knew them; both of them had the same platinum blonde hair, but everything else about their appearance could not be more different. Where Alice stood small and petite, Presea all but towered over most any other girl, with curves to match.

Both of them waved at her and greetings were exchanged once Compa reached them, their small group immediately getting to walk. "Great that you found some time, with studying and all," Alice piped up a moment later while Presea made a face at the last part.

"Ugh, I know it's your dream, but studying should be over after school."

Compa merely shrugged; she actually found that it got much easier after meeting IF. The surge of motivation the brunette inspired had long since vanished, but she got a routine going by that point. "I don't mind it too much. Oh, but I can't stay out for too long today, just a few hours. I want to visit Nepgear later." The blondes nodded in understanding, though there was a note of curiousity mixed into their gazes. Alice tilted her head slightly. "Nepgear, Nepgear... who was that again, I can't remember ever meeting her in school. Your home-schooled friend, the purple one?"

"Ah, right, the one with IF."

Presea's nonchalant realisation was followed by a momentary silence as Compa's smile dropped the smallest bit. "Yes to both." The pause held a little longer, then both of her friends dropped the matter. They did not like IF much and kept saying so.

Until Compa actually had enough and told them off a year earlier, that was. They stopped talking about IF in her presence at that point, which the peach-haired girl was grateful for. She did not mind if people did not get along, that was normal; actively being malicious about someone else, she would not have.

Granted, 'malicious' was too strong a word. They were just somewhat mean when talking about IF.

Also granted, the girl herself would not have cared in the slightest even if she knew. Somehow, she could simply shake these things off without ever bothering about them. It was a useful skill that Compa wished she had herself.

For the time being, she shook off the thought and focussed on the day; though she was already good on clothes after shopping with IF the previous week and the Nep sisters a few weeks before that, it felt like a good way to spend time. Her friends did need some additions to their wardrobe anyway, and she had more than enough fun trying on various sundresses, blouses, and skirts.

After seeing the two off a few hours later, Compa made her way not to the outskirts of town like last time, but toward its centre. For some reason she could not fathom, IF had asked her to meet up before Planeptower; the athletic girl did not provide an actual reason, either. Compa quickly decided to humour her friend, though the matter remained confusing. IF only stated she had to tell her something first.

However, seeing that she knew their mutual friend was already recuperating, Compa's concern remained at the back of her mind. She was mainly just curious.

When she arrived at the imposing tower's base, IF was already waiting for her; her usual blue coat was hard to miss even in the steady stream of people, partly because most made an effort to give the girl space. Their eyes met as Compa neared and the brunette pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning against. A moment later, they stood together.

"Hey, Iffy!"

"Hey..."

For some reason, IF's greeting had a note of sheepishness that was not there normally, making the other girl give her a curious look. "So, what did you need me for over here?" At that, IF actually began to fidget. Only a little bit, but noticeably enough for Compa to pick up on. She did not show her surprise, though; it had to be bigger than she thought if IF got nervous about it.

A moment passed in silence before the brunette sighed. "Look, it's... hard to explain. Do you mind if I just show you?"

Without the need to think about a response, Compa quickly shook her head. "Not at all." For some reason, her smile seemed to fluster IF more instead of less. She was quickly ushered into the tower's entrance area and to the elevators; curious as to where this was going, Compa simply followed her friend's directions until they found themselves inside alone.

Then IF did something weird to the buttons and Compa blinked up at the number displayed, a pit forming in her stomach. "I-Iffy? Where are we going? Is, is that...?" Her question was obvious and so was the answer, though her friend just kept quiet and refused to meet her eyes.

Within Compa, excitement warred with indignation. "But, but, but, but we can't just go there, it's not allowed!"

Her statement hung in the room for a long while as the elevator brought them ever higher, uncaring for the moral dilemma one of their occupants was in. As they passed 350, IF sighed. "It is, you know? The thing is... Nepgear lives up there."

In this moment, Compa's world ground to a momentary halt. She did not need to be overly smart to fit the pieces together at this point, but there was a disconnect between the knowledge and her feelings. There was no reason IF would lie to her, not about something like this. It was the truth without doubt.

Several seconds passed in heavy silence as Compa's eyes widened and she stared at IF with horror. "But, but Iffy! I, I can't. I can't meet the Lady like this, I'm barely presentable!" And with these words, she immediately started to smoothe out her clothes, take care of wrinkles in the fabric, comb through her hair with her fingers, whatever she could think of, while the brunette just stared back at her incredulously.

Then IF snorted and began to laugh; Compa's indignant "That's not funny!" appeared to only make it worse, though the laughter abated soon after. It was rare for IF nonetheless.

Soon after, the elevator began to slow down and came to a stop. Compa's hands quickly stilled as the feeling hit them, both girls unconciously standing a bit more straight. Their eyes immediately wandered to where they felt it coming from even before the doors opened. Once they did, the warm-looking design became little more than a footnote as all of Compa's attention was taken up by the serene beauty at the room's back.

There, at a wooden table, sat a pinkette and a purplette. The smaller one remained just as always, but the taller one stood... _sat_ radiantly. Even hunched over she portrayed more grace than either of them could ever hope to display. Compa immediately ignored the fact that she was also spoon-fed at the moment, struck speechless as she was.

"...is this a bad time?" IF's voice cut through the gentle quiet like a knife, gaining the CPUs' attention right as Nepgear chomped down on the spoon; she blushed faintly, but Neptune's eyes wandered to the two of them for a moment and she waved them in with her free hand.

"Nah, it's fine. Just lemme finish this here and make yourselves at home. And, uh, you better give Compa a push or she will keep standing there."

Indeed, Compa's feet did not seem willing to comply. The girl remained in place, slowly getting used to the divine aura as her attention returned to the room and its other occupant. Even though it was never in doubt before, actually seeing the Lady Purple Sister before her drove the point home.

Which meant that next to Nepgear sat... Neptune. Right now, she was Neptune. It was a snap-decision Compa made while her friend gently grabbed her around the waist and carried her over to the couch. And for as long as Neptune was not on the job, she was Neptune.

As Compa slowly figured things out, IF took off her shoes to put them on the rack near the entrance. Meanwhile, Purple Sister shone brightly before returning to her normal appearance, immediately removing the daze from Compa's mind. She blinked and took a deep breath, then threw a smile toward the younger purplette after turning her head. "I'm glad that you're feeling better."

IF came to sit with her, leaning over the couch's backrest to watch the sisters just like Compa did. Nepgear fidgeted for a moment, but ultimately nodded without another word. The silence felt somewhat awkward, though Compa had no idea how to breach the topic at hand. It was rather obvious and she did not even feel as if more words were needed, but Nepgear might be thinking differently.

When the purplette next opened her mouth, her older sister immediately filled it with her spoon, much to the younger one's dismay. Yet, the look she threw Neptune had no heat in it, being answered with a giggle.

"Honestly, I take this over what else could have happened." IF observed them both critically, green eyes alert.

Which brought Compa to something else she felt she should ask. "Um, Iffy? How long did you know?"

"Hm?" The brunette blinked twice, then shrugged. "Since the dragon. Nepgear was kind of obvious by blocking it head-on, and I saw her apotheosis later that day." The purplettes nodded in agreement, though Neptune stuck the last spoonful into her sister's mouth at the same time. Nepgear defiantly bit through the metal and gulped that down with the soup as well, glowering at her sister.

Compa's eyes were transfixed at the small metal stick Neptune now held, its top obviously bitten off. IF sighed while Neptune herself snorted. Then the older sister shrugged at the younger one, and stuck the remainder of the spoon after its head. "Here, eat up~!" After two more bites and some chewing, the entire spoon was gone without much of a care.

It happened so casually that Compa might have thought this was normal, yet she intellectually knew how weird seeing this had been. But before her sat CPUs, not humans; their normal was likely much different than hers.

The disconnect made her head feel woozy, but Compa shook it off.

Yet it took her a few hours to really understand what she learned that day; it only set in when she had long since said her goodbyes and gone home. Her grandfather was present when the girl suddenly stilled and closed her eyes for a long moment, the kitchen table between them filled with empty plates and a few leftover toppings. "Is everything okay?"

Compa nodded mutely as her eyelids slid back again, then she threw the elder a gaze that held both thrill and utter confusion. "I met the CPUs today, both of them."

Instead of the surprise she expected however, her grandfather just snorted and took a sip of his coffee. "Oh, did she finally tell you?" He allmost _giggled_ into his mug at the expression on Compa's face, his wrinkled face filled with mirth.

Several seconds passed in the weirdest silence Compa had ever been in, as she blinked at her grandfather and tried to comprehend. "Y-You know Lady Purple Sister? Why didn't you ever say anything?"

He almost laughed at her again, but kept a grip on his amusement. With a content sigh, the elder pointed his butter knife at his own face. "How old am I, sweetie?" At that, Compa had to do some quick math because she never remembered his exact age. Some mental counting later, she cast him a confused look. "Seventy-two?"

She was given a simple nod and the knife went back to his plate. "Exactly. I _have_ been seeing Lady Purple Heart quite a few times on Jiro's project, but I wouldn't say I actually know her. Yet, I have lived here for a long time." He offered a toothy grin and motioned with one hand. "You will notice some things as you're getting older, Colette. Beauty like theirs is simply not possible for any human, though we rarely notice on a casual glance. They are smarter, stronger, better than humans, and that will always stand out in time.

"I am not stupid, sweetie. Actually, most old folks can tell you exactly who is a CPU if you give them a few hours to talk to one, civilian form or not." He closed with this, but lowered his gaze in consideration before adding something else: "We just don't tell because the Ladies walk around in their civilian forms for a reason."

He chuckled again and winked at Compa. "That aside, Jiro has a habit of not watching what he says at times. I already knew Lady Purple Heart is very much the polar opposite in her civilian form."

The comment made her crack up and giggle, nodding along with a smile. "I can see that."

She had learned many things today.


	20. As Time Passes 3

_Hey Uni, are you making a weapon to surpass Nepgear?_

_..._

_Well, run that sentence through your head again and you might get it in a bit. I'm going to go bug Nowa now!_

-Neptune

* * *

June had begun and rolled past, seeing IF return to active duty while Compa entered nursing school. Nepgear remained home-schooled, though they now knew Histoire herself was the dreaded tutor they heard about.

Right now however, work was not really on the brunette's mind. Part of that was the divine aura pressing down on her from above, part the divine body on her back from not so far above. She kept up an even pace, moving to all but touch the ground before pushing herself back up. Neptune helpfully counted her push-ups while keeping perfectly balanced on top of her.

Further up, Nepgear hovered in her HDD, gently floating back and forth; the pink wings she displayed were not actually required, but they apparently gave her a modicum of control to start out with. The occasional squeak and muttering told IF that her friend was a far cry from soaring through the streets at speed, though. Flying high in the sky was one thing, but anywhere near things Nepgear could break required a lot of control over her flight.

She still wondered what had happened to her life, though the peoples' attention begun to fade a month after her fight with the dragon; now however, she spent quite a bit of her free time around Planeptower, such as at this very moment.

They were located deep below the monumental structure, in a vast chamber carved into the stone and coated in Sharicite. Neptune's personal training chamber, which even Nepgear was not allowed to enter without her older sister's permission. Not because it was forbidden, but because the younger CPU could not open or break through the doors by herself just yet.

This room was build to withstand the abuse of a CPU preparing for war, as it had remained for longer than three centuries; this place, where they now did their exercises, had been used to develop most any technique Purple Heart used during the Console War. The great conflict between the four, which had lasted a little short of three hundred years and had ended long before IF was born. No one even knew _why_ it ended in the first place, as no clear decision had been reached.

She considered asking Neptune, who would know, but the CPUs had never spoken about the matter. It was rather clear she did not want to, so IF decided not to bring it up.

Instead she finished her sequence and pushed her lower back up to throw the purplette off. Neptune sailed through the air with a laugh before landing on her hands and cartwheeling into a normal stance. "Nice try, Iffy."

They smirked at each other for a moment, but then their attention was taken by an audible crash; Nepgear bounced back from the wall she hit, rubbing her shoulder with a sigh. As she turned, IF nudged Neptune's side. "How long until she's decent at it?"

Her question made the older CPU put a hand on her chin in thought. "Mhmhm, hard to tell. I'd say a month or two, maybe three? Chances are she will be done before Uni's apotheosis." Mentioning the raven-haired girl, who was also Lastation's Candidate, made her snicker. "She was all but foaming at the mouth when Nepgear told her. The rivalry is strong."

IF offered an amused smile in response before adding her own comment. "Not just the rivalry, right?" This brought her a pointed finger and a 'Bingo'-motion, but also made Nepgear blush. This was the first indication she gave of listening to their conversation.

Curiously, she did not deny it. Neither IF nor Neptune missed that fact, though they merely glanced at each other and kept quiet.

**::**

Hours later, Compa had joined them after her classes let out; now that Nepgear had recuperated, she decided to let the two humans see her workshop. Neptune had actually sealed it for the previous weeks to ensure her younger sister would not run off to tinker out of boredom.

As they strode out of the elevator, Nepgear quickly led the way. "It is not far away. Don't worry about people, almost nobody comes up here."

"Outside of the Makers, you mean?" Compa's question prompted a light nod from their guide, who cast a glance backward. "Pretty much. I don't think either of them would mind you, though." While she spoke, IF felt tempted to sneak a peek at those two if they were present; it was gone a moment later, though curiousity remained. She had never met either Steamax or RED before.

Compa appeared more openly conflicted than her, making the brunette realise she was not the only one curious about Planeptune's heroes.

However, neither of them asked and they did not meet anyone on their short trek. IF doubted that the Makers were even around, though she did not put much thought to the matter; her attention was soon taken up by the room they entered; the afternoon sun cast bright light onto it through a windowfront, illuminating a place four times the size of Compa's already spacious bedroom.

Two workbenches were pushed at the far wall, with a covered indentation to their right and several different kinds of protective gear to their left, though the pile was neatly ordered and had accumulated a lot of dust. Dozens of power tools were arrayed around those workbenches, ranging from drills to soldering irons.

The walls were taken up by large containers of miscellaneous electrical parts, sometimes interrupted by actual cabinets holding everything from scrap metal to shining chips. One large rack was completely filled with blueprints, all of which had been meticulously labeled and sorted alphabetically.

Everything was tidy and orderly, though Nepgear quickly checked nonetheless while the other girls looked around. IF was amazed by both the size of this room and its contents, as well as the girl it belonged to. She figured that the free space in the center had been created to test the various gadgets Nepgear obviously built here.

When they reached the purplette, she was busy going through a box that lay on her workbench; upon hearing their steps, Nepgear cast a quick glance their way and smiled apologeptically. "Ah, sorry. I was actually working on a few conductors the days before I got sick. They aren't actually complete yet..." She trailed off, leaving her human friends with a somewhat awkward silence to break.

After having looked around the room, IF took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, I guess you're more of a tinkering nut than we thought." Compa quickly nodded in agreement, looking around in interest as she did.

The following tour was nearly incomprehensible to IF; Nepgear operated on a level of expertise that she could not hope to even get close to. However, she appeared so happy to talk about her hobby that neither of them had the heart to interrupt her. In fact, Compa even appeared to get more of it than IF did.

They humoured Nepgear for a bit longer, letting her fawn over all the bits and pieces she had neatly laid out and prepared for various projects and ideas. Once the purplette had finished talking about her plan to create sensor-based, realistic animal ears, IF interrupted with a more curious note. "By the way, are you going to join us on patrols again?"

Nepgear blinked at her, but quickly nodded an affirmative. "Of course." Now that she was healthy again, it would soon be time; however, she _was_ an adult CPU now and probably would get quite a bit more work than she used to have soon.

Yet, thinking about work reminded IF of her katars; the first pair, worn and trusted, had been irreparably destroyed during her fight with the dragon. She bought a new pair weeks earlier, but could not shake the feeling that those would not survive the next stronger monster. If she wanted something that lasted longer, she would actually need Lastation-made weapons; the artisans there were known for making things that lasted a lifetime and longer.

This thought in turn made her think of Uni. Despite all the joking they made on her and Nepgear's expense, Lastation's Candidate appeared to be someone who cared even if she did not say it. IF had only one encounter to go off of, but the younger girl had left an impression just like the other two CPUs she knew.

"Has Uni visited over the last month?" The question was out of her mouth before she realised, but IF did not mind it this time.

Nepgear simply nodded, though her expression turned a little thoughtful. "She did, twice." As there was nothing else forthcoming, the brunette raised an eyebrow and waited.

When Nepgear failed to continue even after some silent prompting, which already told them how far off her mind really was, she flicked the CPU's forehead. Nepgear recoiled with a surprised eep, then blinked at the expectant IF; Compa giggled over the confused look given to the brunette, who kept her eyebrow raised. "So, what else is on your mind?" She felt that as Nepgear's friend, she ought to ask.

The purplette fidgeted a little as she considered what to say, but ultimately shrugged. "It's... not really that important. Uni was acting a little weird and I still don't know why. That's a little infuriating, to be honest." IF could understand the sentiment; not knowing what her friends were thinking could be bothersome at times, though it appeared not to be normal for a deity.

"Actually," Compa chimed in with a curious expression now, eyes on Nepgear. "I mean, I can guess who Uni is now, but how long do you actually know each other?" That, IF realised, was a good question. She knew CPUs were born looking like young children and not infants; they held a human adult's intelligence since birth, too.

Nepgear scratched her forehead in response, pulling memories of the distant past back up. "Uh, that's a good question." She remained quiet for a moment, hands absently playing with a small cable. "I think it was fifteen... no, sixteen years ago. March, to be exact. Uni was four months old, I was a year and and a half at the time; that was when they both came visiting us." She did not elaborate who 'they both' were; it was rather obvious she meant the lastationite CPUs.

"We had a somewhat rocky start, though it all ended well." Nepgear grimaced while saying that, something unpleasant having returned to the forefront of her mind; IF considered asking, but the purplette continued already: "I never really disliked her, and she started warming up to me in time... I think we have been best friends for at least ten years now. Probably longer."

IF considered returning to the other topic for a moment, but decided to drop the matter; she had the feeling that Nepgear did not want to talk about it. She also considered throwing another jab about the lingering romantic tension at her friend; it was tempting, though probably not the right time.

Instead, her gaze wandered a little and came to rest at something that appeared slightly out of place on one of the various cabinets. "Is that a sword hilt?"

Nepgear did not even bat an eye at the new subject, following her gaze and opening the glass door after a moment. "Oh, that? I was actually working on a new beam saber." She pulled it out and held it out for inspection, though the hilt alone appeared no different from other types IF had seen so far. "In theory, this one should take less power to produce the same effect; it takes thrice as long before you need to reload or switch the power pack."

She took a step back from the two humans and activated the weapon, immediately being basked in a faint, pink glow. The blade hummed quietly, a metre long and formed like a standard short sword; IF knew it could easily cut through steel.

Then, without either of them doing anything, the blade contorted and spilled right into Nepgear's chest. IF flinched and Compa's distressed noise was quite audible, but their friend calmly turned her weapon off with a sigh, patting out the fire on her clothes. There was a hole offering a glimpse at rosy skin, though it already fixed itself as they watched, leaving Nepgear as pristine as if she had not just assaulted herself with a tide of condensed plasma. "It still has a few bugs and needs fine tuning, I guess."

She looked down at the weapon with a thoughtful expression before putting it aside. "Actually, would you mind testing it once I took care of those? You would be right in the target audience," she told Compa. It was an easy confirmation that this weapon had been meant for civilian use without actually saying so.

Compa just looked overjoyed.

**. .**

**. .**

Weeks passed without much trouble, quickly turning to a month and continuing. Neptune observed her sister and her two friends with joy, happy for the younger CPU to have found friends. Her smile was brighter than ever these days.

The weird feeling in her heart still plagued the older purplette nonetheless; Neptune intellectually knew it was called envy, but never really felt it herself. She rarely cared what others had over her, both because few had more and because she was happy.

Yet, seeing her own sister grow up and become independent made her feel both joy and a hint of bitterness. Neptune knew this meant they had less time to spend together.

She also knew not to speak of it; such emotion was not acceptable for her to feel. Thus this hint of envy went ignored as the ruler of Planeptune worked and played; she knew not to follow her feelings, as there was nary anyone in this whole world who would spend as much time with Nepgear as she could. They were eternal.

One day, while the three were up in Nepgear's workshop once again, Neptune had decided to return to her own refuge. A long ride in the elevator saw her alone with her thoughts as they inevitably went to the young woman with her sister. IF was without doubt outstanding in many regards. "Great girl, ten out of ten, would befriend again." Neptune giggled at her own comment; yet the smile soon faded away again.

Surprisingly, this was another part of the envy she felt these days; seeing that Nepgear had to make friends of her own to leave the nest, Neptune held back on Compa and IF on purpose. They were both the kind of people she loved to befriend herself, though; IF in particular she would have liked to spend more time with.

Then again, she reasoned, there was no problem with doing so in the near future.

As the elevator released Neptune to the underground layers of Planeptower, she quickly skipped away from it; the large bag by her side swung with every movement, though she made sure not to spill any of its contents. Seeing that these areas were restricted and rarely visited, she did not have to worry about being seen. Once out of sight from the elevator however, she simply went through a revolving wall lightly marked on the corridor; the best hiding places were those never known, after all.

Down a staircase, Neptune stood before a simple wooden door that was Sharicite nonetheless. The walls inside were coated with it just like the training room a few hundred metres away. Only Nepgear had ever known about this particular room.

Neptune slowly approached the door and pushed it open, the added weight making the same feat impossible for any human. The Keep Out sign she herself put on went ignored, obviously, though it would tell her fellow CPUs not to enter if they ever found this place. Personally, the purplette doubted this would happen; they rarely went off to explore far-off parts of each others' homes.

This was where she always went when she felt lonely; with her friends present, she would naturally never come near this place.

There was no light inside, only an ethereal pink glow from Neptune herself lighting up the dark. She quickly created a few orbs of light to orbit her, revealing a truly vast chamber to her eyes. The ground was covered in soft pillows, with rows and groups of plush toys arrayed around them; many had turned grey with age, losing their colours as centuries passed.

Toward the walls were cabinets, reaching ten metres up to the ceiling and filled with all kinds of drawings, letters, and papers; she had already filled them until the middle of the room, a hundred metres in the distance. They were all hidden here, every letter and present she had ever gotten. Every picture ever taken.

At the far end, however, stood a shrine. A shrine that held a clear crystal of Sharicite in its center, but was otherwise plastered with images. Were she to go there, all of Planeptune's heroes would be smiling back at her; a simple reminder of all the Makers she had appointed throughout her life.

More pictures hung everywhere around the cabinets, though; friends she made in the past, most long gone to rest with their ancestors. Children, adults, elders, men, women, more.

Despite the myriad of things she knew to be in here, Neptune remembered almost everything. She knew one of the cabinets further down held letters from Nepgear's friends; Compa had written two, one for the Day of Creation, one for the new year's celebration of another year. IF had sent one as well, though she was seven at the time and likely long since forgot about it.

All three were cheesy and childish in a way, but so were most of the letters in here. Each word written here was Neptune's motivation, the knowledge that there were so many who depended on her work.

Today, she just dropped down onto the pillows and pulled a cup of pudding from the bag. It quickly cooled down under her touch as the purplette applied a bit of magic.

This was where the greatest of her generation would go if a break was truly needed; to sit amidst the proof of her hard work, and eat her favourite food until she felt better.

She had a lot of pudding with her that day.


	21. As Time Passes 4

You won once more, Prisme. I admire your determination to keep this world alive even against me; yes, I am dying. But as you know now, I will never cease. I will return. _These humans and gods I shall embrace,_** and to the grave I shall guide them.** _**You can only ever buy time, Prisme; you know best what I am. I will see Gamindustri's end, even if it takes until this sun falls dark.**_

-A§"o!§e

* * *

As summer began to wind down, with August already halfway past, IF and her two friends were out and about with little care. Even Nepgear, though she should have known better, easily forgot about Gamindustri's sorrows as she enjoyed herself. A very human trait.

The three of them had decided to engage in vanity and shop for nothing in particular, merely to waste time as they took a break from work and studying. IF mainly just tagged along, seeing that she had little use for actions that so lacked in meaning; all her purchases were long done and her mind remained focussed on more important matters. Personal matters, that was. The fact she would soon turn eighteen and begin to live by herself was not lost on her. How fortunate a girl she was, that this could be her greatest trouble at the moment. Not a thought was spent on the potential death she may die any day.

"Hm... Nepgear?" Compa sounded thoughtful as they wandered, her brow creased in contemplation. "How is Nep-Nep doing? I haven't seen her much lately."

Much as expected, the young CPU merely shrugged. Nothing was out of the ordinary for her. "She is as bright as always. But she isn't home right now." The girl did not appear suspicious of the fact. "I have no idea where sis is, but she vanishes from time to time, and always around the Day of Creation."

Truly, the ability to trivialise such information was shared by humans and their gods alike. As indeed Gamindustri's most important holiday neared, this had remained a constant throughout Nepgear's life.

Surprisingly, it was Compa who held this tiniest spark of suspicion. She recalled a previous conversation they had had. "So she is taking care of some kind of business again?" Nepgear merely nodded.

IF innocently wondered by herself, thinking about what it might be Neptune was doing in secret. Had she known, nothing would have been the same.

Heh.

**::**

At the same time, Purple Heart was overseeing her grave.

Despite her not yet being dead, this statement is not contradictory. An endless expanse of grey extended before the purple deity's sight, each grain of sand marble-sized. Her divine aura flickered as it protected her from the creeping darkness, a shiver running down the woman's spine despite the fact she had felt it so many times before. No sun shone from the purple sky, with only a streak of silver running through it as illumination. That, and her own silver shine.

The landscape before her was not even, occasionally turning into towering mountains; she knew, without ever seeing any of them, that CPUs were lying atop each of them. Divine souls were all that could retain its form here, once their life had ended.

As the gentle whisper of death surrounded her, Purple Heart walked; her stride was quick and purposeful, ignorant of the monument to transience surrounding her. She had purpose in this plane, much different to anything else put to rest here.

There were days when mortals could walk these fields, given that they found the way. Yet Histoire saw, more often than not, that they would try to regain the soul of a loved one they lost. Despite the fact most heeded the warnings, some were driven too far by grief, or simply believed themselves an exception to the rules. They were not. The Graveyard will not allow anything that belongs to it to be taken. And only one being in its grasp could leave on her own, detached from its will.

For many millenia now, Histoire remained the gatekeeper to this realm; only with her approval would anyone be able to enter.

Purple Heart was the only one who lived here, surrounded by the entirety of death.

So she wandered, between the remains of men and gods. Her eyes never strayed from the path she knew to walk, for she feared what she may find were she to check atop a hill. Were she to look, she would have found gazes following her. CPUs of old tended to wake from her passage, curious about the young one passing by them.

Yet they would always fall back into their slumber once she passed. No sound came forth but the crunching of her feet on the sand, inaudibly loud even to the goddess herself.

After a time spent wandering, its length indeterminable, things began to change; the sand made way for black stone, partly pushed away and partly having retreated in natural fright of what lay further inside. Purple Heart paused for less than a heartbeat, fear addling her mind for an instant before being crushed. Her indomitable will pushed the shaking body forward, refusing to give in to what lay before her.

Amidst the stone was a pit, filled with what may be liquid darkness; it was not simple blackness, but the absence of light itself.

Before her gaze could be caught by the pit's contents, Purple Heart turned to the side and materialised a sword to ram down, marking her position. Then she began to walk around the creature, carefully measuring each step and counting them up in her head.

As she walked, a dozen eyes opened in the blackness as one. Of all shapes and forms, those eyes blinked in unison as they swirled and followed her movements. She was quiet, entrancing like all gods were to mortals. She also shivered under the burden on her mind, refusing to admit it had been lost so long ago.

The eyes closed as she left their sight, another twenty opening up on a shadowy appendage closer to the young goddess. Human and feline, canine, and reptilian, slitted and with no pupils at all. What they all lacked were lashes, and some held no eyelids. Some blinked, some did not, but they all continued to focus on the CPU's futile act. They ranged in colour from milky white to a red more at home within an inferno.

Words were spoken toward her, but she ignored them as she wandered; they did not echo, their weight not allowing them to be repeated by anything but the owner of this voice. Purple Heart did not listen, did not respond.

She had been entering this place once a year, every year, for centuries. Ever since the first years, she would always follow the same routine, walking her circle and counting.

A deep, female laughter filled the still air as she finished and immediately began another round to verify her count. Purple Heart frowned, yet did not react otherwise. She did not listen now, either.

Once her second round was over and the counted numbers equal, the CPU nodded to herself and turned to leave. Her sword dissipated into wisps of silver light, each of them quickly fading; she could feel countless eyes on her back, yet never once cast a glance at the swirling mass.

Just like that, she left without ever looking back. Purple Heart had finished gauging this primordial being's growth, finding it within expectations. CPUs had done so for tens of thousands of years, to prevent an unexpected outbreak. Her face did not give away whatever she was feeling about the matter, though any thought of hers was ultimately pointless. Neither her nor anyone she knew would be alive for Her next revival.


	22. As Time Passes 5

_"That tower you are building for your main Basilicom, is that not that a little too phallic? Are you, perhaps, compensating?"_

_"Perhaps; or perhaps this just gets to show that mine is bigger than yours."_

-Green Heart and Purple Heart

* * *

The Guild headquarters remained as imposing as always; IF would have thought she got used to it after almost two years, but such a thing had not happened. Perhaps it was the disconnect between this one and most other planeptunian buildings, seeing how this one alone was vast instead of tall.

Taking a deep breath of warm air, the young woman took one last look around. Most flowerbeds were still in full bloom, as the main heatwave of summer had passed some time ago. Now, in September, things were starting to cool down without reaching into the cold just yet.

Over the past few months, the most notable event in IF's life had been that she acquired her driving license; she still felt she did not have the monetary buffer to afford a motorcycle, though. However, Neptune let her drive her machine on occasion; she also insisted on joining IF during these rides, which the brunette had to admit were a fun thing to do.

From interacting more with Neptune, she also found out that Nepgear was to be introduced officially at her eighteenth birthday; which, coincidentally, reminded IF of her own birthday coming up. But a month and a week remained until it was time for her to leave the place she called home, and preparations for that were well underway.

With a weak smile at the thought of all those things she had to juggle, IF shook her head and moved through the main entrance. Past the clerks, exchanging nods with them, and into a kind of waiting area that remained rather empty at this time of day. Noon had not yet arrived and most were working.

Her group was mostly assembled already; Nepgear and André were there, talking quietly to each other. Gabriel had his eyes on his phone, face held in his usual light frown. Only Alexis was still missing.

"Hey, guys." "Hey, IF." "Morning." "Good morning." Greetings were exchanged just like that, with André also giving her a weak slap on the shoulder; they had all grown rather close over the years, though the adults' behaviour had underwent another major change after the incident with the Ancient Dragon.

Ever since then, Alexis had actually become a tad more distant from IF and Nepgear; she freely admitted to being envious, and both of them were glad it was just a slight disconnect. IF did not like it, but admitted to herself that something like this was bound to happen. André became more carefree now that it was clear they could hold themselves no matter what, and Gabriel had opened up completely. He became particularly fond of IF for some reason, which the girl herself figured to be that she was better at taking his jabs and handing them right back; Nepgear also improved on that front, but even her growing confidence could only do so much.

She also considered that Gabriel may have unconciously noticed what Nepgear kept holding back; the only ones who knew by this point were IF and Compa, with the rest being planned to receive the news once the Candidate was officially introduced.

The fact they were in the lobby was not normal, though. Even if no one appeared concerned, IF knew that they all wondered. "So, any idea what Lady Histoire wants from us?" It was a valid question in her mind, seeing that the Tome rarely interfered in Guild-matters directly. Like the other Oracles, she mostly delegated Guild work to other offices in order to keep her main attention on governmental work. Only the actually important matters were handled by her personally.

Sadly, the others only shrugged in response; Nepgear probably knew, if her apologeptic expression was anything to go by, but she could not say anything in front of the others. Then again, they could all guess that it was about the two junior members. Even without knowing what IF knew, that much remained obvious to everyone.

As they were waiting for Alexis, IF quietly joined Gabriel and pulled out her own phone to check Chirper for something interesting. Yet her mind soon returned to Nepgear; it had been months since she found out about her friend's divinity, but the matter never stopped to amaze IF. She was friends with not one, but two CPUs.

What this did change was how she no longer felt weird in appreciating the grace with which they did anything, or to be stunned by something outstanding they did. They were goddesses, that much was expected of them; not to mention that with Nepgear's initial flight-training all but finished, IF often got to witness a CPU in the air. Her friend had already mastered movement in three dimensions, though she was not yet allowed to fly outside until she had been revealed to the public.

Seeing that the information about her apotheosis was held back until her birthday, there were only two, perhaps three humans who had thus far seen Purple Sister in flight, if at all. IF was not sure whether RED was privy to this and it did not really matter. She felt special for being let in on something so unique and wonderful.

"Hey guys," Alexis called out with a lengthy huff, obviously out of breath. "Sorry I'm late, I forgot the time!" The others just shrugged in return; with exception of IF, all of them had been late from time to time. Greetings were exchanged and the group as a whole got going, taking the elevator upward and quickly reaching Histoire's office. The doors opened for them and the Tome received them with a smile.

"It is good to have you five; please, take a seat." She did not give any indication of haste and IF took the moment to take in the office. This was her second time in here, but she had been too nervous to look around four years earlier. Her actual registration two years prior had happened over the regular channels.

The office around her was devoid of personal effects; there were only few of those even in Histoire's office in Planeptower, but the professionalism stood out to IF; the Tome usually remained in the Basilicom, only heading over to this building one or two days in the week.

Once everyone was seated, the small woman touched down on her desk, absorbing the book into her ethereal wings and sitting down on a chair in her size. Blonde curls fell down her back as she took each of them in with interest. "I believe it is not a secret what we are here to discuss today. We, Purple Heart and I, had a lengthy discussion about your squad and reached a decision. All of you will be reassigned in the near future."

She paused when Gabriel started to chuckle, giving him a curious glance; the others could guess what he was about to say, though nobody interrupted. "I wonder what would amuse you so?"

Gabriel merely shook his head and leaned back, relaxing a bit as he explained: "It's somewhat obvious, Lady Oracle. IF and Nepgear are way out of our league. They're turning eighteen in a few weeks, too. With the luck I've had so far, the three of us are probably going to get the next newcomer to take along." Gabriel and Alexis nodded along while the girls lowered their gazes sheepishly. It was not a secret by any means, but hearing it said like that remained weird.

Histoire offered a weak smirk that quickly lost its mischievousness and returned to being just a smile, all while gently nodding her head at the team leader. "My, you are quite correct." Her eyes fell on the two girls. "To recap, the Guild ranks its agents from F to A; these ranks are a direct representation of both skill and capability. Group sizes are reduced the higher it goes, reducing manpower in exchange for an easier time working together, and to ease agents into having less backup. Not to mention that no agent ranked C and higher should require strength in numbers to succeed in everyday tasks.

"F- and E-ranks have group sizes from six to five, D-ranks from five to four, C-ranks are always made up of three agents, B- and A-ranks are always sorted in duos." She paused for a moment to breathe, folding her hands as she did. IF knew all this and so did everyone else, but she did not mind the refresher. "S-ranked agents, as they are likely to be recruited as Makers, always go alone. This signifies both the responsibility of handling themselves without backup ready, and the trust we have in their abilities." With this, Histoire's gaze went back to the three older agents.

"The three of you are ranked D in our agent register, but both Isabelle as well as Nepgear will, upon being promoted from junior agents to regular agents, receive a B-rating to start. Those two will form a duo and continue working together, seeing that they are already used to each other. I will probably have the free places in your group filled with another set of fresh agents." Now it was for IF to be surprised; she had already guessed she would not start as F or E, but B had been quite a bit above her own estimate. Nepgear was a given for obvious reasons, of course.

Strangely though, no one but her appeared surprised by the news.

As nobody reacted, the Tome offered them another, more mischievous wink and nodded to herself. "No questions, I take it?" Meanwhile, IF's mind went back to another subject that she had been considering. She had money and something she wanted to buy, but what she lacked was time.

Thus, seeing that no one had anything, she spoke up and broke the momentary silence: "Actually, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

The blonde considered her for a moment, then cast another glance around and nodded. "Of course, go right ahead."

IF folded her hands in an unconscious imitation of Histoire's gesture, though the brunette's were in her lap. It felt wrong to ask for this, but she did know she had vacation days. "I wanted to take the next two weeks off." At which point everyone, including Nepgear and the Tome, appeared dumbfounded. "After that Ancient Dragon, I have been thinking that my katars aren't up to snuff. If something like this happens again, I'm likely to just melt the next pair, so I want to get myself better weapons."

Understanding blossomed over their faces, though Histoire additionally offered her a knowing smile; in this moment IF realised that every word she ever spoke was recorded in the being before her. Of course the Tome knew what she was aiming for.

"That is no problem for me, you barely use up your vacations as is, anyway. Does anyone else have objections?" Heads were shaken and the small blonde clapped her hands. "Fantastic. I will have the paperwork filled out, that will take three hours. You are free for fifteen days starting tomorrow."

IF blinked at the number, but stopped herself from correcting the Tome. She noticed before that Histoire had a certain appreciation for three and all of its multiples. No one else corrected their boss, either.

"But where will you-," André started, only to sigh in realisation. "Oh. Lastation, right?" IF merely nodded a confirmation, though Nepgear had become thoughtful.

As no one else was forthcoming, the purplette piped up as well. "Actually, I would like to take time off as well." This, however, made the Tome chuckle heartily; she quickly hid her laughter behind one of her petite hands, but it remained audible. IF smirked as well, being able to guess what kind of thoughts were going through her friend's head.

The other three were a little lost and exchanged looks. Gabriel closed his eyes in thought before nodding at the Oracle, who was not so absorbed in her mirth not to notice. "That's fine with us, we can keep it up with just the three of us."

"I am aware." Histoire folded her hands again and offered them another fond smile, her silvery wings slowly moving back and forth as she rose into the air again. The chair quickly levitated back aside. "It is good to see all of you so lively. Keep up the good work." They all took the dismissal for what it was, bowing their heads as they filed out. The door gently closed shut behind André.

"Now then," Gabriel noted with a clap of his hands. "Let's get going." They had a patrol to get to after all.

As the five of them took the elevator downward however, Alexis sighed theatrically, looking the tiniest bit put-out. "It's been years since I was to Lastation. I really want to travel more." The others exchanged looks over that, but nobody challenged their colleague on the matter.

"Lastation is nice," Nepgear noted after a few moments. Her eyes were directed somewhere into the distance, as if she were imagining something. "Very green, too. The air is just so much worse than anywhere else."

IF had in fact heard about this matter; due to their rivaling nation's industrious inclinations and reliance on coal and oil, pollution was a major problem over there and slowly became one for the other nations.

Or rather, it would be. Thankfully, the CPUs could simply filter most of the dirt out of the air; Black Heart did a yearly round of Lastation to 'clean up', followed by her fellow goddesses doing the same at their borders.

André spoke up and made IF discard the musings, the tall man appearing thoughtful. "So, what's you guys' favourite for a vacation?"

IF only shrugged, but it remained unnoticed as Gabriel answered at the same time: "I think we had that conversation before. Anyway, I've only ever been to Leanbox, but that's a great place in general." Alexis nodded enthusiastically and gave a thumbs up to their group leader, a motion which surprised no one; they all knew their darker-skinned friend liked her home country a lot.

André nodded in understanding as they left the elevator and went to get their equipment. "Well, I do prefer Planeptune myself. There's enough diversity here to be entertained, and I like the atmosphere we have. You can't find the same kind of people anywhere else."

IF was content not to contribute to this conversation, but Alexis quickly nudged her side with a curious smirk. "Come on, tell us yours. Where do you like to go?" She continued this for a few moments longer, until IF gave in.

The younger brunette sighed and rolled her eyes toward the older one. "The furthest I got from home was a class trip to the Zheca power plant, so I can't answer the question. Though, from what I heard, I'd probably like Leanbox or Lowee, too." Just as she had expected, her colleague's expression immediately turned apologeptic while the others appeared to become uncomfortable.

"Sorry." Alexis contritely turned her head, to which IF only rolled her eyes again. "It's fine." She never really pushed her home life into the conversation, but the topic had come up in the past. She did not bother any time before, and she did not bother now.

"I think you would like Lowee a lot. It's my favourite, too." They both turned their attention to Nepgear, who held a reminiscent smile. "It's just... so peaceful to look at the snowfields, there's a beauty there you can't find anywhere else. And the people are the nicest I have met anywhere in Gamindustri." She interrupted her gushing to smile at them all, which in turn made IF smile. Of course her friend would have been around most of the world already.

By herself, IF was content with how her life had turned out. Now, in preparation for what was to come, her next stop would be the Land of Black Regality.


	23. Mortal Interlude - The Power of Song

_It was found, time and time again, that music is among the most soothing and interesting pastimes in Gamindustri; its possibilities are almost limitless. I have to admit, I sometimes indulge in recreating and listening to the works of great musicians long gone._

-Histoire

* * *

Green Sigil was vast, just like any of the other main Basilicoms. To the two blunettes currently being guided through its furnished corridors, nary a sight could be more intimidating. The girls wandered after a young man in the staff's regular green robes who freely chatted away as they went. Neither of the two stopped him, even though none of his words registered with them.

The girls in question were clad in their school uniforms; those were the only somewhat formal pieces of dressware they had on hand when the invitation came. Sixteen and fifteen respectively, one could obviously see them to be siblings; both had the same slightly regal features, the same ocean blue hair, and even the same mole below their respective right eyes. One had deep blue irises, while the other featured a dark pink instead.

They were not twins, even though they came close to looking the part; what truly differentiated them was that the older one walked behind her sister, barely capable of keeping herself straight. She might as well be hiding away from the curious glances thrown at them.

While Lyrica Langley remained in her state of fright however, Carolyn Langley merely ignored the man talking the day away in front of her. Neither did she pay attention to her sister pulling at her shirt from behind. She only went along because the other blunette pleaded with her, taking pity on the fact Lyrica could not be at ease around strangers.

It was the older sister who had been invited to meet the Lady. While the younger one did look forward to seeing Green Heart as well, she could not forget that this was still all about Lyrica, not her. Just as always.

They had both believed things would get better after Carolyn managed to get them away from their abusive mother. Even if it was the older blunette who suffered more under that woman, neither of the two was still the same as they were in the past, during their childhood.

Even when Leanbox provided the sisters with money and any kind of care they might ask for, it was different to the old days; Lyrica's irrational fear of strangers was unlikely to ever fade and Carolyn had no desire to try going back to before. Not that anyone would notice, with how much everyone was fussing over her sister.

"Here we are." Carolyn's musings were cut off when they stopped in front of a wooden door; those existing in the restricted parts of Green Sigil came as a surprise. The thing was tinted greenish brown and completely unremarkable otherwise; their guide knocked carefully and waited a few seconds before entering, motioning for the girls to follow. "The misses Langley, my Lady."

They entered after him and found themselves in a medium-sized lounge with a pretty blue carpet and deep green walls. Two figures sat on the large couch at the far end, in front of them a table with small stacks of paperwork; the smaller one was clad in a white robe with matching veil, the taller one wore lush green the very same way.

The Ladies White Heart and Green Heart, masking their civilian faces as was proper; getting to see a CPU's civilian form was a sign of trust neither of them was worthy of. Nonetheless, the sight had Carolyn marvel despite everything. Seeing them in person did not have as much of an effect as she expected, but it made sense. She revered neither of them and none of the others, either. The CPUs did not save her father, or prevented her family from being ripped apart after his death.

"My, what wonderful timing. Please make yourself comfortable, you two." A gentle voice spoke up from beneath the veil before Green Heart's head turned to the side a bit, toward her staff. "Thank you very much. I will call you once we are done here."

"Of course, my Lady." While the man bowed his head and left, the two girls took a few steps into the room. Carolyn leaned against the wall, knowing that this was not about her. She figured she should stay out of the way.

Once their guide was gone, the ruler of Leanbox clasped her hands and the smile was audible in her voice: "I am terribly sorry that I could not inform you of my colleague's presence, but this meeting was rather rushed. I hope you do not mind her?"

As if either of them would. Getting a chance to be this close to not one, but two CPUs was a chance very few people got; especially if they were in their civilian forms. The siblings shook their heads, although Lyrica did so rather abruptly; Green Heart paid it no mind and just carried on. "Wonderful. I am glad you found the time to come here today; hearing you sing at this talent show was truly amazing, Lyrica."

Her sister ducked under the praise, blushing profusely; it was just as usual, even after her sibling was so thrilled when they got the message. Despite pulling Carolyn along for support, now she was as nervous as the younger blunette had ever seen her.

The two of them were a weird pair, Carolyn noted to herself. She who attempted to unveil the arcane, as well as her older sibling who could only shine when put on display. How strangely fitting, she mused, considering that her sister outdid her at every opportunity. It was a rather morbid thought to be sure, so the blunette pushed it aside; she watched with attempted indifference how Lyrica stammered her way through a response, all the while slowly following Green Heart's beckoning. "I-I am h-h-honoured t-to h-hear that, m-my Lady..."

The CPU's assumed smile remained hidden by her veil. She turned slightly after a few moments, though; no words were spoken, but the younger Langley knew that her not sitting with them was noticed.

In the meantime, White Heart poured some tea for them and pushed a cup over to Lyrica without a word. Then she sent another one flying with magic until it hovered right in front of Carolyn, who took it with a grateful bow of her head; the smaller CPU nodded once, the gesture almost invisible below her veil.

"I'm used to hearing a few interesting candidates, but I never saw anyone using magic in their music so expertly and to such a wonderful effect." Ah, the praising continued; Lyrica merely flushed again while Carolyn thought back to all those hours of training the two of them did together; they were both blessed with a large amount of Spellpower, which meant that there were few limits for them. Ever since they took up their magical studies, the sisters had been constantly impressive to their teachers.

Carolyn gently sipped her tea, the liquid still a little too hot for drinking; her magical control allowed her to keep a small buffer on her fingertips, preventing the hot cup from heating them up.

The Lady continued to talk with her sister, gently drawing out bit by bit from her. By all accounts, she was a good host at least; Lyrica began to ease up over those few minutes, her stammering slowly subsiding. Not that a meeting like this would be enough to make the aspiring singer completely comfortable, but it was a start. White Heart refrained from commenting on anything, though; Carolyn had the fleeting suspicion that she paid more attention to her, although she could not really base this on anything.

"Well, do you think you are up to singing for us now? Anything is fine, Lyrica." So they were where they were supposed to be now; this was what Green Heart had invited them for. The older sister swayed back and forth on her chair for a moment, but then gently nodded and stood. "Yes, I think so... just a moment, please." She hurried over to where her guitar case sat; Carolyn finished her cup and gently floated it back to the table.

When Lyrica carefully revealed her instrument, White Heart spoke up for the first time: "This one is an electrical guitar, right?" That it was; the question made the younger sibling grin. She made this guitar herself under appliance of a lot of knowledge and testing. It was completely independent from regular power sources, courtesy of their magic.

Sadly, Lyrica apparently saw the need to justify herself. "Um... y-yes, it is, um, L-Lady White Heart..." Carolyn rolled her eyes over this; they would be sitting here for way longer than was necessary if this went on like it did.

So she interrupted her sister: "My sibling is quite adept at what she does, Lady White Heart. I humbly ask to let her resume as she sees fit."

Lyrica shut up in an instant and both CPUs turned their attention to the younger blunette, who remained standing where she was. The place was fine and she doubted either of the two had any problem with her pompous way of talking. Some people did and kept their distance to her because of it, but Carolyn never really minded that. It simply meant that there was more time she could spend on practice and research.

In the end, the response she got was a chuckle from Green Heart, who held a hand in front of her veiled mouth and gently motioned for the older girl afterward. "I see. Carry on then, I am curious where this is going."

Lyrica, for her part, exchanged a glance with Carolyn; she just remained nonchalant about this, but then decided to give her sister an encouraging nod. Even if it irked her how she was always the center of attention, Carolyn was also weirdly happy to see her reach her goals.

The other blunette closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then she marched into the room's center and double-checked her guitar. She was still fidgeting, but nowhere near as bad as when they first entered. It continued to die down, which told the blunette that her sister was starting to focus on the music.

Lyrica grasped her instrument properly, sparks beginning to dance on her fingertips; they brought the guitar to life and shone in the slightly dimmed light. Both CPUs became attentive at once while her sibling played a few chords; she was still checking whether everything was ready, but the sounds echoed through the room in a way they never would normally.

This was Lyrica Langley's magic: streams of electricity to power her instrument, paired with supremacy over the wind to carry both her music and her voice further than any other human being could. Carolyn continued to smirk while her sibling began to hum, trying to find her rythm. Then Lyrica switched to a strong yet gentle melody and sung in a clarity even her sister rarely heard; she was giving her all for this.

It made sense, all things considered. Carolyn knew her sibling had been thrilled about this chance; she even spent the last week hunched over her desk, trying to put together a song befitting of the vibrant nation of Leanbox, as well as its ruler.

In Carolyn's mind, she succeeded with that; she heard many variations of those melodies while experimenting with her magic at home, but this one was arguably the most fitting. Strong and resolute but also encouraging, inviting the audience to let go of their worries and indulge in the melody. Lyrica's magic carried it all around the room, producing a mystifying echo on top of everything else.

Carolyn noticed a few disturbances as her sister went, a misplaced echo here and a few unwanted sparks there... probably due to nervosity. Nonetheless, Lyrica's performance was as good as always.

Even she herself was not immune to the music, as it made her think back to the days of their youth; back in the day, when Carolyn had still liked her big sister much more than she did now. They still got along, but the feelings of adoration had left years ago.

Things might not have gone like this if the older sister were not always showered with attention, despite the younger one craving for the same and never receiving any. Pathetic it may be, but Carolyn would have been happy with being the center of attention at least once in a while, or at least for someone not her sister to recognise her own work and all the effort she made. But no, it was always just Lyrica; the girl too anxious to even speak to anyone properly.

The song came to an end on gentle chords, as faint as it started. Carolyn so far witnessed all kinds of reactions, reaching from roaring cheers to calm applause; the Ladies, however, did nothing of the sort. Both CPUs remained quiet, letting the song end in silence; even when Lyrica obviously held her breath while awaiting their judgement, they seemed to show their appreciation in a wordless manner. It was hard to say without being able to see their faces, though.

At one point, they nodded at each other and Green Heart broke the silence. "I am quite delighted to hear such a wonderful song. Your mastery of magic is indeed impressive, as is your singing voice." Lyrica beamed in joy and pride over the praise while Carolyn rolled her eyes and remained quiet. She knew how this went, people had probably forgotten about her presence once again; that was what usually happened.

"What about you, Carolyn? You're looking as if you have something to say." White Heart's words needed a moment to register, making the blunette blink a few times while her bitter thoughts vanished. This was unexpected. What was more, the Lady even noticed that she wanted to say something despite all her effort to keep a neutral face. Now she even lost that out of surprise, wondering what to say.

"Not exactly, Lady White Heart," she finally decided to respond, "Lyrica's performance was as good as ever." Both Green Heart and her sister kept quiet, watching the exchange while the ruler of Lowee considered for a moment. Then however, she simply dismissed the excuse for what it was: "I doubt this is everything. What did you notice during your sister's performance?"

Her tone was as calm as before, almost emotionless even; however, Carolyn got the feeling that she did not want to try wiggling out of this again. A deity asked, so... she probably should apologise to Lyrica later on. "There were... slight disturbances I did notice, yes. Probably a misplaced wave due to a wrongly directed burst of magic, which led to a dissonant echo somewhere during the second stanza."

The older blunette looked at her in surprise, then apparently tried to review herself. Meanwhile however, White Heart nodded almost invisibly and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I noticed. What else?"

This went on for a little bit. The CPU extracted every little detail out of Carolyn, having her explain both her reasoning about cause and effect as well as the point it happened at. As interesting a challenge it was to have to describe minor problems so thoroughly, she started to feel genuinely bad for her sister now; Lyrica kept looking at them in growing horror, her expression falling more with every little mistake her little sister named.

Carolyn was not happy to admit even the smallest flaws she found, but White Heart would not let up until she was done calling them all. In the end, the blunette was standing next to her sibling after at least ten minutes of analysis. She felt bad about the whole thing, which was why she ended as she did: "Even though, all of those mistakes are trivial matters entirely. Someone unused to the field would never even notice."

The Ladies looked at each other again. This time however, they did so only after lifting their veils and revealing their faces; both sisters held their breath over this, admiring their beauty. Even without the feeling of power behind the two, Carolyn could see their immaculate skin and sharp features; she also got the feeling of being able to glimpse the powerful minds residing behind their blue eyes when they finally returned to looking at them.

Green Heart was blonde, her hair gently falling down her back in a single wave of curly gold; White Heart had short, brown hair and admittedly looked a little boyish with it. But that did not matter much; two CPUs had decided to reveal their civilian faces to them, an honour beyond measure.

"Mhm," Green Heart began while the sisters were still somewhat frozen in admiration. "You are right in that all of these are trivial, but you taking notice of them certainly is not. Especially if the only tools you had to measure these trivial mistakes were your own ears. Do you, by any chance, plan on pursuing a career as a mage?"

Carolyn paused for a moment, flushing a bright scarlet under the praise; that was not supposed to happen, not at all. She underestimated the Lady. "Yes, that is what I plan to do, Lady Green Heart."

While she was still trying to get herself under control, both to fight the blush and stop herself from squeeing in joy, the CPU began to smile before throwing a glance at White Heart. "Oh my, now I get the feeling you want to say something, Blanc."

The other deity merely grimaced before sighing and shaking her head. When her colleague turned back to the blunettes, a small grin found its way onto her face. Carolyn had no idea what was going on there, but she did not really feel like interrupting the Ladies; that would be rude.

"Considering your expertise and theoretical knowledge, I think it would be prudent to offer you a chance to build on those basics. Would you be interested in joining my staff once you finish your education? Leanbox is always in need of good researchers and mages."

So they were offered a safe job right next to the Lady. This got Carolyn to think for a moment while she exchanged a glance with her sister; no, in fact, she had no need to bother thinking about it. They talked about this before and knew what the respective other thought. The CPUs waited patiently and let them speak once their wordless communication was over. Lyrica motioned for her to go first, but the aspiring mage shook her head. "You are the older one, so you should go first."

Her words brought a small smile to the older blunette. "I guess so." Then she turned and bowed deeply toward Green Heart. "I-I'm very sorry, but I have to decline your... generous offer. I want to become an idol once I'm of age, s-so I can't commit myself to this."

"As for me," Carolyn added once her sister was finished, "I plan on leaving Leanbox once my education is complete. I have to decline as well, Lady Green Heart." She did not leave the CPU any chance to reply to Lyrica in-between, then bowed her head as well.

For some reason however, White Heart's grin had grown wider while the ruler of Leanbox merely watched the two sisters; she did not frown and was still smiling, but this was probably not what she had wanted to hear. Then she nodded slowly and the friendly expression was back in full force. "I see, this is most unfortunate. It would be wrong to try persuading you otherwise; though I am rather curious about your reasoning, Carolyn. Why do you not want to stay in Leanbox?"

The question, albeit expected, made the younger blunette pause in thought. This was more of a private matter and she really wondered whether she should tell someone else about it. On the other hand, those in front of her were not just ordinary people, they were deities; what was more, they revealed their faces to them. The least she could do in exchange was to be honest; on top of that, she had no reason to leave an impression of displeasure with Leanbox itself.

"The simple truth is that I wish to get some distance between my sister and I, preferably before I start hating her. Leanbox is a wonderful nation, but I do not want to stay in the same country as Lyrica." They talked about this before, much to Carolyn's relief. Lyrica accepted her feelings when she came clear about them the previous year, so now her older sister only smiled in sad agreement; the CPUs, however, were staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

It was... probably an achievement in itself to surprise a goddess like that. Lyrica sheepishly played with her skirt when the dumbfounded gazes wandered over to her, but kept quiet otherwise.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Green Heart sighed and took a sip from her cup. "I did not expect something like that to be the reason. You seem to get along rather well to me, to be honest."

Her sibling remained next to her, quiet as usual; Carolyn did not mind, although she took a moment to regard Lyrica once more. Then she faced the Lady again. "We used to be closer and our relationship has grown weaker as time went on; I very much doubt that it will get any better."

They still got along, but Carolyn knew her own feelings. Even if she did not want to end up hating her sister, it would happen if they stayed together; taking some distance to each other and living their respective lifes like that might help them to at least stay on good terms. She would like that very much.

The blunette was unable to continue this train of thought, seeing that White Heart took over from her thoughtful colleague: "Neither of us has any siblings, so I won't try to pretend I understand your feelings on the matter. If you both are fine with this decision, that is alright." She paused for a moment before closing one eye and measuring her again. "Say, do you have any trouble working in a team, Carolyn?"

The younger sibling raised an eyebrow over this question, all the while nervously opening and closing her hands; they were safely hidden away in her long sleeves, so no one would notice either way.

This question was weird. She would respond anyway, but it was obvious that White Heart was planning something. Green Heart turned back to her colleague as well, likely having similar thoughts.

Nonetheless, she decided to be honest about this. Almost none of her peers could keep up in terms of magical work anyway. Or academics, for that matter. "I never really manage to get along with others for long. Mostly because I am the most competent of the group quite often."

The CPU regarded her with a hard stare; she probably said something bad right now, even if it was the truth. Before Carolyn could backpedal on what she said after realising how much it sounded like boasting, White Heart smirked at her. This gave the blunette pause while the brunette straightened herself. Green Heart chuckled again, covering her mouth with a gloved hand.

When the ruler of Lowee spoke, her voice had become energetic: "Heh, so you want a challenge? That's good; I have a certain girl just a few years older than you, one who'd love to work with someone competent for a change."

Carolyn's eyes widened while the goddess spoke; she had somewhat expected Green Heart to make an offer, considering how her teachers always praised her outstanding abilities. But for White Heart to do the same, that was beyond her expectation. Was she really that big of a deal?

"Besides", the smaller CPU added while turning toward Lyrica, "Vert here has her hand in most of Leanbox' entertainment industry anyway. Even if you go to be an idol, you'll probably end up in the same place."

The two humans exchanged glances while Green Heart simply smiled mysteriously. All of this had taken a turn for the absurd, but that was nice in itself. Carolyn had really not expected for these things to happen, although she certainly would not complain. In fact, the offer from White Heart sounded quite good to her.

"I think we had enough serious talk for now," Green Heart noted at last before gently smiling at Lyrica. "Would you mind playing another song or two?"

These words made her sister snap out of the stupor the previous discussion sent her into while Carolyn moved out of the way. This time however, she slowly sat down on the couch, a bit away from White Heart; she needed a moment to let this sink in. The Ladies let her be while Lyrica played up to her next piece and the chords started to echo through the room again.

Carolyn still had trouble believing what just happened; she would definitely take whatever White Heart wanted to throw at her. Her only problem had been with Leanbox; getting employed by a CPU, which this was probably about, might be the best thing that could have happened. No, it definitely was the best possible outcome.

Maybe she had gone insane.

The thought presented itself quite calmly. It would make sense for all of this to just be a madness-induced illusion.

But then again, if madness felt that good, she had no problem being a mad magician.


	24. A Princess Reborn 1

_Hm? Something interesting from the past? Oh, if you are asking, I might as well; even though Black Heart tries to keep this a secret. _

_You see, this happened back when the nations were still young. Lastation's first generation of craftsmen was already in its prime and the nation went at one ambitious project after the other. However, it was also the time when the first graveyards were reused... and when the people dug up the graves previously closed, they often found coffins that, after thirty years, had only just started to decompose. _

_It is quite ironic to me that this is the only time I can remember people complaining about the quality of Lastation-made goods._

-Purple Heart

* * *

IF yawned and looked out over the station.

But a few hours had passed since she told Histoire she would take a two week vacation, which was followed by telling Compa and Mari about the matter; she had already mentioned it to the latter, seeing how she needed permission anyway, but now they were all on the same page. Neither of them had minded, and wished her good luck.

Now it was six in the morning, her train was due in five minutes, and the young woman shivered. Temperatures had been dropping for weeks, yet this morning in particular was chilly. IF wished she could go somewhere a bit warmer, or warm herself like other mages. She did not try using magic, though; considering her control, she reasoned she was more likely to set her clothes ablaze.

Adding to this was that waking up at these times, even if she was used to it, saw her somewhat tired. She would have preferred to go in the afternoon, partly because she had to train, but then she figured she might as well get started early.

As if to mock IF, Nepgear stood right next to her without appearing bothered by anything. The purplette was wide awake and dandy, humming cheerfully as she read Chirps on her heavily modded N-Gear. Whoever had the great idea to name the most used planeptunian tablet after her– IF held the thought and realised it was Neptune without doubt.

Pushing her musings aside, IF tried to worm her hands deeper into her coat's pockets and looked her friend over; Nepgear was pristine even now. "How do you do it?" She could already guess, but the curiousity remained. "Not being bothered by this," she added after a moment.

Nepgear immediately looked up from her device, a quizzical note in her expression; both girls stood straight and alone, with a few others further down the platform. There was very little conversation going on anywhere as the morning sun's first rays began to kiss their faces.

After a moment of consideration, IF felt a slight weirdness and swishing noises around them. Nepgear took a quick glance around. "Just to make sure, don't worry. Anyway, CPUs are pretty resistant to heat and cold. I technically don't need to wear clothes at all, but that would stand out. I wouldn't need anything in Lowee either, but it's the same thing." Then she began to beam at her. "Besides, my sleeping cycle changed after my apotheosis! I only had to sleep every second day before, and now I am already at three and a half; I'll probably hit four days soon. And that is only the time I start to get tired, too. I slept yesterday and worked through tonight."

The human woman shook her head over her friend's joyful explanation. "That's one thing I envy you guys about. Only having to sleep twice a week sounds great." Her words made the divine girl giggle.

"I guess? I'm just a Candidate, though. Sis can stay up an entire week without getting tired." IF's resulting sigh prompted another bout of mirth, though that was what she had aimed at. A CPU's reduced need for sleep was no secret.

However, the sensation IF felt since they started talking vanished and Nepgear put a finger to her lips. "Wind magic," was all she said; it was more than enough to know this had been an advanced technique to stop sound from carrying.

"Attention on platform five," the automated voice announced a moment later. "Please take distance from the tracks, rolling in is CN thirteen thirty-eight from Nicos to Nordral." The train was already visible up ahead, quietly pushing through the morning cold. IF took a moment to marvel at the long structure of polished metal with its purple highlights. Nepgear smiled leniently over her friend, who did not notice.

"Actually, what does CN stand for?" IF turned a curious look to her friend, who closed one eye for a moment. Nepgear had an overabundance of trivia in her head, which included this tidbit.

"Connect Nations; they handle all international travel. We're lucky we are in the capital, that way we actually get a line directly to Nordral." Which IF knew was Lastations capital city. There were similar connections to Lowee and another would exist to Leanbox, were it not on the other continent.

Either way, IF was glad to get out of the cold; she exchanged a relieved glance with the amused Nepgear, then quickly grabbed her luggage as the train rolled by them. Light from the inside illuminated the girls a bit more and drew slightly longer shadows over the pillars behind them. Once the machine stopped and fell quiet, they found a set of doors but a few feet away from them. IF immediately went over and opened it, Nepgear following with her own suitcase.

Warm air immediately kissed her skin, making IF sigh quietly. The young woman took a quick look around and noted the compartments every train was divided in; they varied in size from being made for two to eight people, with the numbers noted on the doors.

Seeing how simple this was, IF just wandered through the rows until she found one that was designated for two people, a buttonpress making the door slide open. Both girls filed in and quickly lifted their suitcases into the holding areas over their heads, then took seats opposite to each other.

Despite it being noted for two people, IF found that the compartment was quite spacious and that the seating was comfortable as well. She cast a glance out of the window, finding just the mostly empty station outside.

Then a screen right below that window came to life, beeping twice to get their attention. "Good morning and welcome. Please slide your tickets over the scanner to validate them." A pad on top of it flashed once, indicating where the scanner was while text with the same message ran over the screen. Nepgear already had her ticket out and slid it over the device; the screen flashed green after a moment.

IF had to rummage through her many pockets for a moment; once she found her own ticket and did the same as Nepgear, the screen flashed green again and stayed that way, white text scrolling over it as the voice spoke up again: "Thank you very much. Please enjoy your ride with Connect Nations, where no borders exist."

She almost snorted about the slogan, even though it did fit the company. Instead, IF curiously looked around to take in the train's interior; their compartment had plastic walls and the doors held but small windows, which meant others could not see much of them from the outside.

"It's very obvious this is a planeptunian train, don't you think? Lastationite trains rely more on human personnel to check the tickets. This automated system was built here and I think I optimised some of its code a few years ago." Nepgear lounged in her wide seat with visible content, immediately reacting to the curious look IF sent her way. "I'm not sure if it was actually given to them, but Histoire had me do it for my degree in Computer Science, um, eight years ago? I think?"

The explanation, in turn, made IF feel small again; she never really got out of her mind just how far she was eclipsed by her friend. Of course that was Nepgear's duty as a CPU, but IF sometimes had trouble reminding herself of that.

That said, the brunette was somewhat curious now. "How many degrees do you have?" She had half a mind to regret her decision to ask, but learning more little things about her friends won out once more. IF waited patiently while scattering those thoughts, noticing she would have hours to do little else but chat and think. Nepgear quickly raised a hand and counted on her fingers.

"Let's see, I started with Engineering and Law. Yes," she noted once IF raised an eyebrow. "Sis and Histoire insisted I study Law early. Then came, uh... goodness, was Computer Science or Physics first?" With four fingers ticked off, the purplette thought for a moment. Then she shrugged and lowered the last one. "Not that it matters. The last one I finished was Business Administration, just two years ago. They have me study up on Medicine at the moment, but that will take another year or two."

IF carefully waited until it was clear her friend was done, then she took a deep breath. "So it's five. At not even eighteen." Nepgear appeared a little sheepish, pushing her index fingers together in a familiar gesture. "I know it's not that much. Uni is already almost done with her eighth degree... she spends a lot more time on these things than I do, even though we have the same amount of combat practice."

The brunette blinked at her friend slowly, expression blank. "I think I just got whiplash," she deadpanned.

Now Nepgear blinked right back before realising that her 'not much' was half a lifetime's achievement for a human being. "Oh, goodness... whoops?"

Knowing that this was her life now, IF sighed and turned to the window; only to realise that they had already left the station, and by extension their hometown. The train moved so quietly and softly that she had not even noticed. The vast plains around them were still dull and grey, as the sun had not yet risen enough to brighten them noticeably. It was only a matter of minutes, however.

The approaching day reminded IF of something else, though. Nepgear seemed to share her thought, as she was staring outside with the lightest of frowns. "Perhaps we should have gone in the afternoon after all. It will be night in Lastation." The brunette nodded.

It was but a bit of trivia that she herself had filed away long ago, and obviously meaningless to a being whose sleeping cycle was just different.

Lastation's timezone was twelve hours different from Planeptune. The Land of Black Regality was actually first on the clock, with intervals of six hours separating Leanbox, Planeptune, and Lowee in that order.

Which meant that after an eight-hour train ride over half of the continent, where it would be the late afternoon at home, they would arrive a few hours after midnight. IF simply shrugged it off; she could get through a few additional hours of activity without trouble.

Their conversation quickly petered out, though; the human girl spent some time by idly watching the landscape pass by and trying to get the itch out of her mind. Ten years of daily morning practice left her in a routine that made her body all but demand she start; in fact, IF _would have_ started to exercise, if she had had the room to do so. Their compartment was spacious, but not quite enough for a girl of her size to do push ups. She had no other equipment, either.

Suffice it to say, IF was uncomfortable with her routine interrupted. Then however, an idea crossed her mind and she quickly turned to Nepgear. "Hey, can you make me some dumbbells?

The Candidate snapped out of her trance and lilac eyes left the tablet's screen; her mouth opened and for a moment it seemed as if she wanted to ask what IF meant, but then understanding flashed over her face and another question came out: "What weight?"

IF considered the question for a moment; she had to work most of her muscles anyway, so it did not hurt to be thorough. "I'm thinking a heavy and a medium pair for today, so one twenty and eighty pounds respectively."

Nepgear had already pushed a hand behind her back, but paused at the numbers. She gave IF a long look before producing four dumbbells one by one, never once breaking eye contact. "I trust that you know what you are doing. Eighty pounds is not medium weight." Her tone made quite clear that she was surprised, and a bit concerned.

However, IF only snorted. "For me it is. Twenty pounds were my medium weight six years ago. Thank you." She quickly weighed the training implements in her hands and nodded; she was used to the weight and could tell that her friend made them just to specification. Though she wondered. "Why behind your back?"

Nepgear shrugged in response, a mote of silver light sparking from her thumb. "Just being careful is all. Someone might have been looking in right as I made them." IF made an understanding noise as she sat straighter and began her improvised workout. "That makes sense."

They each were absorbed by their respective tasks after that; IF did not have much to do as she worked herself, deciding to look out the window to pass the time. Hills, lakes, rivers, forests, plains, all of this passed by them in time. The sun had quickly come out to illuminate Planeptune's vast expanse, but then another sight made her rhythmic motions slow.

In the distance stood another city; IF had no idea which one it was, but its sight made her marvel nonetheless. Brightly reflecting the morning sun's light, steel buildings reached for the heavens. Yet the skyline was dominated by the local Basilicom; a far cry from Planeptower itself, but nonetheless impressive to behold. IF knew that this design was on purpose, too; no matter where you were in a planeptunian city, you would always know where the city center was by looking up.

Errant monsters were also visible in the grassland surrounding this city, though most appeared to keep their distance from it. Outside of the metres-high walls was a patch of cleared space, which was the defenders' kill zone. Anything that passed this border was immediately targeted by the defense crews. In fact, as she watched, two of the stationary plasma cannons raised their long barrels into the air.

IF quickly closed her eyes, but still saw the blinding flash of plasma streaking out through her eyelids; when she opened them again, the bright projectiles were impacting a floating Dolphin far up in the sky. Flames lashed out and, without any sound carrying to them, the monster disintegrated into shining particles.

With no other danger to fire on, the weapons returned to their ready positions. It was a much different sight from the outside, IF realised. She had seen those weapons fire from within Nicos' walls in the past, but never like this.

Some time later, when she put down the dumbbells to rest her arms for a bit, Nepgear looked up from her tablet. "I have some games on here. Do you want to play?" Her words were considered for a long moment, then IF nodded and nudged the training aids; the CPU picked them up without any visible strain, lowering her hands and absorbing them into herself. The dumbbells flashed weakly as they shrunk and lost form before vanishing.

Her curiousity piqued, IF motioned for Nepgear's empty hands. "How does that work?"

The purplette looked down, then back up at IF with a confused smile. "Um." She looked back down again before folding both hands in her lap. "That's a pretty difficult question, to be honest." As she saw the brunette's raised eyebrow, one of her own rose slightly. "Try to explain to someone without magic how magic feels like."

"Oh." The comparison made sense; IF never tried to explain to anyone, but she knew she would not be able to find the proper words.

Once her point was understood, Nepgear nodded at her. "See, that is the problem. I could always do this, ever since I was born. Share Energy is malleable, it can be whatever you want it to be for as long as you have an idea of how it works. We are very, very careful with Sharicite Engineering, though." The purplette frowned and thus stalled her impromptu lecture. "For one, all CPUs agree that the people should not become dependent on black boxes they can neither reproduce nor repair. Once we are all gone, everything would crash and burn.

"Secondly," she continued levelly, "while Share Energy is so malleable, it also almost has a will of its own. Sis described it as being a grumbly cat, which is more or less accurate." IF snorted quietly, which prompted a weak smile. "I mean it. It prefers to stay as Share Energy or Sharicite instead of taking any other forms, and pushes back the more you want. Goodness, I am really not explaining it well. The short version is that you need a lot of energy to make it do what you want. Your magic _could_ act as a way to provide that energy, but _by all the heavens never do this_."

At this point, Nepgear actually cast a serious look at her that made IF feel as if she had done something wrong. Her voice held an edge rarely heard from the gentle purplette. "Are we clear about that?"

The brunette quickly nodded, purging the curious idea of trying a piece of Sharicite from her mind as fast as it appeared.

Nepgear nodded back, happy with the reaction she got. "Even if you survive, the consequences are heavy. Anyway, Share Energy." She quickly returned to a more lecturing tone. "It is pretty easy to make something like those dumbbells, to be honest; I just need to make it take a proper form, which it does not mind because that is little different from solidfying into Sharicite. Then I tell it how much weight to have, which is just a single property. The more complex the thing you want, the harder it is to do. That's why most of our weapons are simple melee weapons and why Uni is so great; she is the only one our age who can pull off actual firearms at combat-acceptable speed."

While Nepgear made her last comment and IF rolled her eyes, the human girl's mind was churning. She learned a lot in the past two minutes and was hoping to remember most of it later. One thing put her off, though. "It feels weird to talk about Share Energy as if it's alive, you know?"

Her comment made the CPU tilt her head; this time, both lilac eyebrows rose to almost meet her hairline. "But it _is_ and that is what's so implicative about it. It is the belief of our followers made manifest, it comes from people. If any of us were capable of controlling the energies required without destabilising the Sharicite, we could create _life_. Histoire is the greatest marvel of Sharicite Engineering." Nepgear paused for a moment, then faintly touched a hand to her own chest, a weird note in her voice: "_I_ am made purely of Share Energy, too. Just like all of us CPUs. Did you really never think of that?"

IF had not; she never really paid much mind to such things, focussed on her goal as she was. At least Nepgear appeared to not be angry or sad, merely curious. "Sorry, I haven't been thinking much about how things work for you guys. Thanks for telling me."

"It's no problem." Nepgear apparently considered the conversation to have concluded, seeing that she shuffled around in her luggage before pulling out a second tablet computer. "Anyway, here is my backup, just give me a moment to..." She immediately began mumbling to herself as the screen flickered to life, tapping around and nodding a few times. Then she handed the device over. "Here you go."

IF took it gingerly, careful not to damage her friend's possession. It was a little silly, considering how sturdy those were, but she always found herself being extra careful when handed something not her own.

Already running, an arcade game greeted her eyes. IF had not really played many games during her life, so the name Marble Jam did not hold any meaning to her. After blinking down at the title, the brunette sucked in a deep breath. "I just realised the grave mistake I made. I'm not much of a gamer."

"Oh, it's fine." Nepgear giggled over her expression, but held an understanding glint in her eyes. "This one is mostly for cooperative play." She quickly explained the game, which sounded easy enough to IF; each of them would be given a set position on the board, with coloured marbles rolling down the predetermined path. The players' task was to shoot those with coloured marbles of their own, and prevent them from passing through into the marked area at the end.

It sounded easy enough in theory. Once they connected their devices, Nepgear found herself as Player 1 and controlled the field's first half; IF held the second half, which she quickly realised meant to clean up anything her friend did not completely wipe from the board.

They were a good team, even as the speed increased; two years of working together revealed their influence as the girls easily communicated with few words, exchanging warnings and information whenever necessary. Marbles shattered by the dozens and their score kept increasing for a good while.

At some point however, the game became too fast for a casual IF to handle; they had lost before she decided whether to ramp it up.

Nonetheless, both girls smiled at each other as their score was displayed in six digits. Then Nepgear got a mischievous streak to her features. "Looks like you are better at this than you thought."

IF just tilted her head, slightly embarassed by the praise. "Well, it's mostly hand-eye coordination and reflexes. There are no advanced controls or anything." She already knew what her friend was planning though; not that she minded. "Versus mode?"

"Versus mode." Nepgear confirmed. Her smile had slimmed down, becoming competetive while IF unconciously straightened her back. They both knew this would be much more challenging than the previous round.

As IF quickly found, they remained sharing the same track instead of being separated. She held the first half, with Nepgear overlooking the second; that allowed the human girl to get the first shot in. At first her friend did not even get any points at all, but IF soon realised the catch of being first; she had almost no time to react to the new marbles while her friend had precious seconds to prepare for whatever entered her reach.

She started out with quick swipes and skilled hits, making marbles crack and dissolve by the dozens. As the pace picked up however, the first made it past her domain and were expertly shot down by Nepgear. Even once IF began to focus and increase her speed once again, she could not stop more marbles to make it through; a fleeting glance to the scoreboard told her that Nepgear started to catch up.

This went on for a while, their scores quickly growing from four digits to five, and then to six. By this point, IF's eyes were darting over the screen at the end of her perception speed, fingers guided no longer by concious thought.

Hit, hit, hit, miss. Her eyes darted back to the remaining marble and she scowled. The new set was already out of her reach, though IF heard them cracking as she focussed on the next. Her attempts were fierce, yet marbles made it through time and time again.

Soon after that point, the screen froze and displayed Game Over. IF stared at it for a long moment, only to realise that her eyes were stinging with pain. She quickly blinked, finding that she apparently forgot to do so for longer amounts of time. "Ow." A slight wheeze accompanied her quiet groan, though it was heard anyway. Instead of fussing over her like she might have done a few months ago however, Nepgear broke into giggles at the sight. IF glowering at her only made it turn into fullblown laughter.

While her friend slowly calmed down again, IF blinked rapidly and took a look at the final scores. She gained 645,120 points, with Nepgear holding 645,333 and thus having won by a bit more than two hundred points. This was somewhat surprising to the brunette, who let out a low whistle; they individually reached around the score they got when playing together, _and_ she almost won.

She continued to compare the numbers by herself for a moment longer, but a sigh from Nepgear interrupted her musings. The CPU was done laughing and leaned back with an apologeptic smile. "Sorry. I had to cheese it toward the end. We both might have been a bit too competetive."

A minor surge of disappointment made itself known to IF, though she quickly pushed it aside; she had lost, yes, but she also brought a CPU-Candidate to her limits, even if just in Marble Jam. The purplette's comment made her curious, though; in several ways, but she would take it one question at a time. "What do you mean with cheesing?"

Nepgear shrugged in response, a delicate finger pointed at her N-Gear. "First half gets the first shot, but second half gets more time to prepare and control over the target. I had full control over when the game ends, it just took letting a few more marbles pass. I caught up to you, but you might as well have managed a second wind, so I let it end there." Her smile grew a size over IF's snort. "I mean it, my toned-down skills would not have been enough to beat you."

This, however, led to another question that IF decided to ask first, an eyebrow raised. Nepgear immediately caught her expression and explained before the brunette could do so much as open her mouth. "I think we both know that my limits far exceed yours, or that of any human. We tone ourselves down in order to interact with you better, to the point where it becomes second nature. Actually," she finished sheepishly, "I had to spend my first few weeks learning how to keep a lid on my strength; I broke a lot of things before I got the hang of it."

The purplette kept quiet for a moment, shuffling in her seat before sighing. "Honestly, it is still jarring at times. Humans are so fragile to me, I was afraid of accidentally hurting someone for years." IF nodded quietly, recalling that CPUs had their own problems to deal with; that did not stop her from being a bit more disappointed. However, her friend straightened out and smiled again. "That said, I actually had to take away some of my usual limits on reaction time and speed to keep up with you."

It only took that much to make content blossom through IF; she felt happy about having pushed a CPU, even if it was not as much as initially thought. "Makes sense. I didn't really take you for the competetive type, though." And it was true; to this day, they had never once competed in a proper fashion.

Nepgear shrugged in turn, taking the change of topic in stride. "From what I saw, most people are. Some more than others, but nearly everyone is competetive to a certain amount. As CPU, I am much more so because I have everything to prove. I do not like losing, at all." Her smile became a little strained over those words; the purplette turned her gaze out of the window for a moment as she leaned back, appearing as if she did not want to meet her friend's gaze. "And everyone else is the same. Uni and I compete less than our sisters, but that might come with age and responsibilities. Or maybe it is because we were friends since we were little."

For a long moment, IF considered asking more questions; then however, she reminded herself that she ought to keep her nose out of CPU-business. Nepgear would probably tell her, but prying into those matters without a good reason did not feel right.

So instead she remained quiet save for an understanding noise; Nepgear kept to her own thoughts for a moment longer, then she shook her head and the unreadable expression vanished. It was replaced by a weak smile as the CPU turned back to IF. "Should we play something else?"

This question was considered and turned down quickly; IF shook her head. "Sorry, but my eyes probably won't like another round like this one." Her response made Nepgear blink and lean in to check; IF dutifully held still, knowing easily what her friend was trying to do.

"Hmm." The purplette tilted her head from left to right before retreating, her face a mask of curiousity. "You're right, there is red in your eyeballs at the moment. In hindsight, I should have expected something like that from you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Sadly, her question only made Nepgear snicker; it only got worse when IF crossed her arms to make her stop, and the purplette would not provide a proper response.

In the meantime, as more light flooded into their compartment, IF could feel a certain force pushing her back into her seat ever so slightly. The train slowed down, and an announcement told them they were stopping at another station. More people soon walked down the length of the train, looking for a compartment of their own.

Looking outside revealed not only the massive skyline of yet another city, but also the increasing bustle of pedestrians and all kinds of public transportation. Students were carried along by unseen energy fields in groups of dozens, even then barely visible amidst the constant stream of people traversing the city.

By this point, it was seven in the morning. Two hours of their journey had passed; IF adjusted her feet to sit more straight, considering to take a walk around. Sitting around for that long might have been more bothersome than she originally expected.

In the end, the brunette decided against getting up for the time being; she could deal with this.

Her attention wandered back to the horizon instead, where Lastation awaited them. "I read up on the place beforehand, but what can you tell me about it?" Considering that she made her decision just a week earlier, there had not been much time to research customs in their neighbouring nation. "I know Lastation is the place to go for quality-products and the people there are hard workers, but what about the details?"

Nepgear put down the tablet she had been tapping on again and tilted her head in thought while IF waited. The purplette curled a strand of her long hair around a dainty finger as she spoke with a note of hesitance: "I, uh, did not see as much of Lastation as you probably expect. Or as I should have, honestly. As you said, Lastationites are known for their high-quality work and serious behaviour. I do find that they have a fine sense of humour once you get to know them, though quite a bit darker than you normally find in Planeptune. Going by the people, you will fit right in."

One of IF's eyebrows rose while Nepgear giggled over her own jab. She could not actually disagree with her friend, though.

"Anyway," the CPU went back on topic after a few moments. "Lastation is proud of its industry, and rightfully so. Society is focussed on work and doing well, though there are less forms of entertainment as a consequence. What is there is big, but they barely have any arcades for example." They both knew that basically any corner in their hometown had an arcade waiting for customers, the places booming easily. "I didn't visit any of the clubs, though I heard those are pretty nice. Oh, and the electronics- and hardware stores are great!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Now it was Nepgear's turn to pout over IF's jab while the brunette smirked. However, this comment had also been an interruption; with how Nepgear's eyes had been shining, IF expected a tangent in the making. In addition, there was something else she read which she wanted to ask about. "I read Lastation has active air travel?"

It was not important, but indeed interesting; the other nations completely barred civilian air travel due to safety concerns. Planes were far too easy targets for flying monsters, and even just one of those in the wrong place could crash into any aircraft.

As if she had said something magical, Nepgear's eyes lit up in joy; she quickly nodded enthusiastically. "They do! Flying with the airships is great! They aren't fast enough for civilian travel, but the view is wonderful and you can actually book tours. Uni and I rode some before, and getting to look down at our vast cities from up high felt... almost like I do while flying myself. We imagined being in HDD while up there when we were younger."

IF nodded understandingly, though her heart was not in it despite how dreamy Nepgear sounded; her only experience with flight had been the few minutes in Purple Heart's arms. Which she could experience little of, considering that there being a deity holding her had taken up most of the young woman's mind at the time.

However, the mention of Uni brought IF back to the lastationite Candidate. They had only met once, but IF did not dislike her; Nepgear was obviously very fond of her as well. "Say, how did you and Uni actually meet? I know it was around the time I was a toddler, but you never went into details how it happened. Did you just tag along with Nep and she was there one day?"

Nepgear already had her mouth opened to respond, but snorted once she heard the last question. "Pfft, hehehe..." it passed quickly, though; the purplette chuckled quietly for a moment longer and smoothly went to explaining again: "It was honestly nothing big. When I was born, Sis went around to... introduce me to her friends." The CPU slowed down a little, her cheeks pinking. "Well, I think she also wanted to show me off, but that is neither here nor there."

She remained quiet for a moment, then returned to the subject. "Anyway, miss Noire, that is Black Heart, did the same thing with Uni once she was born. Sis did not tell me ahead of time, though; imagine my surprise when her friend walks in with a little Uni in tow. Actually, hang on, I think I have a picture on here."

As her friend began to swipe furiously on the tablet, going through what appeared to be hundreds of pictures, IF let things sink in. She already knew the two of them had been more rivals than friends at first, though she also became mighty curious about that picture.

"There it is!" Nepgear held out the device triumphantly, and IF took it without hesitation. Once she looked upon the remnant of a time long past however, the young woman realised she made a grave mistake.

She stared down at the picture, trying her hardest to keep a straight face. IF noted the Candidates' more pudgy faces, how bright Nepgear smiled and how Uni scowl-pouted at her despite being hugged to her side. Her eyes glanced over the frills on their children-sized sundresses as IF futilely clamped down on herself.

IF, who had grown up surrounded by children and spent most of her free time playing with them, the same girl who big sistered dozens, found herself squealing helplessly over what she saw.

Where teenaged Nepgear and Uni were beauties, their eight-year-old looking incarnations were diabetes-inducing _adorable_.

The sound had left her throat before she even realised, and only Nepgear's surprised look made IF realise that it got out. In moments, both of them sported luminous blushes; one of them for having squealed, the other for being squealed over.

Seconds ticked by and neither of them spoke, unable to meet each other's eyes. Ultimately, IF took a deep breath and shook off her embarassment. "Sorry. It's just... you know?" The purplette nodded understandingly and both of them gradually returned to normal.

"I, uh, yes. We used to argue whose big sister was better when we were little. And every time we met in the past, it was with included sleepovers because we had to travel for so long." The last part caught IF's attention, but her question was pre-empted by Nepgear: "Our sisters were busy, so asking them to carry us over to another nation felt like bothering them too much. They did it in a heartbeat anytime we asked."

Then however, Nepgear's smile fell. "Well, then things happened that I do not want to talk about, we went over that before. But after we started to actually get along, Uni and I found out we have a lot in common. I always loved tinkering and she had the same devotion to firearms in particular, and some more things that I think she doesn't want me to talk about."

IF nodded understandingly, returning the device after one last look at the oozing cuteness that was two little CPUs. "Yeah, that's fine. And thank you for telling me."

The talk about friends made her a little sad that Compa had been unable to join them, as she was surprisingly busy with nursing school. However, she already promised her friend to supply pictures and souvenirs, and the other girl had been happy enough with that.

For now, IF was curious what Lastation would hold for her.


	25. A Princess Reborn 2

_The Land of Black Regality, though oftentimes mistaken for a nation of little pleasure and much progress, is a warm place. Lastationites work hard and live life in a much more orderly fashion than most, but will open their hearts to others as readily as anyone else on Gamindustri. They do, however, possess a pride not often found elsewhere; one who visits Lastation should always be respectful of those they interact with._

-Excerpt from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Gamindustri, Volume 4: Lastation"

* * *

Actually standing and walking after eight hours spent sitting in their compartment felt heavenly. IF happily stretched her legs, relieved that the ride was over.

She and Nepgear filed out of the train among a trickle of other passengers, noting that the dark was held at bay by bright lights. The final station, Nordral; it was as vast as Nicos Central, though different in aesthetics. Where the planeptunian design mostly used shining plasteel, Lastation's largest train station was made of dull concrete and wood. It felt a little alien, more spartan than what IF was used to.

All of this was taken in as she moved, another feeling of confusion created by the lack of a proper skyline; outside of the main Basilicom in the distance, the sky was freely visible. No stars though, the city's many lights hid them all.

Looking around however, IF quietly accepted the fact this would be a long day. Due to the twelve-hour time difference from Planeptune, it was half past two in the morning; the cold September air made her shiver below her thin coat, but also helped wake her up from the long train ride.

Next to her, Nepgear took a deep breath and sighed happily, not at all bothered by either the early hour or the cold. IF gave her the moment, then nudged her side and exchanged a glance with her. Both girls nodded and turned toward the staircase leading down to the main tunnel. From there, they just needed to follow the signs to the concourse.

Or rather, they would have, were it not for the figure awaiting them at the bottom. Leaning against a free part of the wall, her lithe arms crossed in front of her chest, stood a familiar sight. Piercing red eyes wandered over IF and Nepgear as they noticed her and stopped, the beginning of a frown playing around immaculate features. A mosquito buzzed around her head, being slapped away by a small strand of raven hair that went unnoticed by anyone but IF.

After a moment, what the brunette had thought was a frown ceased and Uni's lips curled up. She smoothly pushed herself off the wall, lowering one arm and raising the other to adjust her hair. "Before you ask, miss Neptune called us hours ago. Did you really expect to come here and not see me?" She kept meeting Nepgear's eyes, but IF had the feeling the statement was meant for both of them.

It did not come totally unexpected to her, naturally; even after IF had told Neptune she did not want to be a bother, the CPU obviously had other plans. The momentary annoyance soon faded however, and IF watched the two Candidates' impromptu staring match quietly. Now that she knew, she once again wondered how she could have missed it.

Nepgear she explained away with her original timidness and the fact she dressed more plainly. Uni, however, did not bother with such things. Her black shirt and long skirt conveyed a quiet elegance, underlined by the fact she wore no sleeves but gloves that reached almost up to her elbows. Her whole getup accentuated her inhuman beauty and IF found herself with no excuse to have mistaken her for a human before.

It was intriguing just how much the human mind could overlook, seeing how CPUs could move unnoticed amongst them despite of it all. No one else paid the three of them any mind even now.

After a few quiet seconds, Nepgear broke into a bright smile. "Obviously not," she chirped; there was nothing that could have been a greeting, but Uni did not seem to expect one. Her smile merely grew by a fraction, telling IF that this was normal.

Then however, the Lastationite's attention snapped back to IF as if she had just recalled something. "You... you know by now, I assume?" Uni was more reluctant than usual, her voice a little more restrained. Not having any need for clarification, the human girl simply nodded; there was little else to say on the matter. After a moment, Uni returned the gesture; the hesitation vanished from her features just as fast.

Her next question came with a little bit of heat, directed mainly at Nepgear again: "That aside, where did you think you were staying?" It made the older CPU lower her head ever so slightly while IF rolled her eyes, giving the younger girl a look.

"I _was_ looking into hotels around town, but I have the feeling it will be a moot point in a moment," she quipped from the sidelines. That in turn made Uni's gaze snap over again.

Green eyes met red for a long moment as the two came to a quiet understanding. IF did not particularly mind going along with whatever had been planned for them and Uni apparently did not mind her being involved. The raven-haired girl nodded once. "Quite," she allowed. "You are staying at my place, both of you." It was not even a suggestion, though both Planeptunians knew better than to argue.

Instead, IF heaved a sigh and gave a shrug in response to Nepgear's helpless smile. She was tempted to throw in a tease about Uni's rather obvious crush, but thought better of it; she did not know Uni that well and the younger girl had just offered her a place to stay for the following weeks. Perhaps even more, if she considered Neptune's usual schemes.

As no verbal response came, Uni nodded at herself and started to walk with measured steps. She kept her pace even, though slow enough that IF and Nepgear could match her with their suitcases rolling behind them. There was little more than a few glances spent on the concourse as they strode through it, the nighttime personnel offering them sleepy smiles in passing.

Before IF could get absorbed by the sights awaiting her however, she quickly tapped Nepgear's arm. "Mind doing the thing from this morning? I have a question I'd rather have answered now." Her voice remained level, but Uni displayed her curiousity with a slight tilt of her head; seeing that she was leading them, IF could easily see the back of her head shifting. Nepgear thought for a moment, then remembered and nodded. A moment later, the slightly disorienting feeling was back.

"So," IF started calmly, eyes on the Lastationite's hair, "If I am likely to run into Makers today, now would be the time to tell me." If either CPU noticed the uncomfortable note in her voice, they did not react to it.

Nepgear became thoughtful while Uni threw her a bemused look, never once ceasing to walk. "I do not expect it. Falcom and CC2 are close to the western border, and K-Sha... huh, she _might_ drop by in the next two weeks, but I doubt you will run into her."

Her explanation complete, Uni stopped in her tracks; they had reached one of the half-dozen bus stops surrounding the train station. "Anyway," she continued smoothly, "we will have to wait a few minutes. The line home is scheduled only once per hour this early, so... another twelve minutes or so."

The other two nodded understandingly, IF being mollified by what she was told; she had yet to meet any Makers and Neptune was considerate enough not to make them run into each other. Happy that she would not have to prepare herself to meet a heroine when she was only here for weapons, IF's mind returned to more mundane problems.

Due to Nepgear's magic surrounding them, there was no wind to bite into IF for the moment, which she was actually quite happy with. That was why she turned to her friend with a pleading expression. "Can you keep that up while we wait? It's cold enough without the wind."

Nepgear flashed a mischievous smirk, but nodded and kept quiet. However, one of Uni's immaculate eyebrows rose over the interaction and she snarked at IF. "Last I heard, you have a metric ton of magic in that body of yours. Can you not keep yourself warm?"

However, IF only raised an eyebrow in turn and snarked right back: "Not unless you want to foot the hospital bills from me setting myself on fire."

"Oh." The critical edge was gone, replaced by understanding. Uni's eyes broke contact for an instant and the Lastationite nodded. "I see."

With that concluded, IF once again buried both hands in her pockets and ducked a little to get her chin below the coat. Nepgear immediately swooped into the ensuing silence, curiously distracting Uni from her slip-up: "Did anything interesting happen in the meantime? Did you make progress on that beam rifle?"

The other girl shrugged and took the bait, allowing IF to just listen in. "I got most of the design streamlined, but I can't find any materials for the conductors," Uni complained without any real heat. "A single shot melts them every time."

Nepgear made an understanding noise and put a finger to her chin. Then the two CPUs began to discuss the viability of all kinds of fluids and gases, some of which IF had not even heard about in school. She tried to follow their conversation, but soon gave up and watched her surroundings instead; streetlights illuminated well-kept patches of grass with a few late flowers, casting shadows on the buildings looming over them. Storefronts lay silent, with the occasional neon sign still lit. Nightclubs and a few 24/7-markets.

The bus arrived soon after and IF let the arguing girls enter first; both Nepgear and her paid for an adult ticket that was handed to them by the driver, while Uni just flashed some kind of card at her. IF quickly went after her friend, the purplette's conversation never once ceasing. They quickly shuffled onto a group of three seats toward the back.

Only one other passenger was in this bus, an older man who threw a curious look their way, but went back to his newspaper a moment later. IF had the feeling he was hiding a smile though, considering that the two girls to her right were going through possible ways of lowering the power requirements for their rifle.

All she had to do was looking out the window as the bus drove on, watching buildings pass by. The ride was rather uneventful; Uni and Nepgear ultimately agreed on how to proceed with their pet project, but did not strike up another conversation. Both of them were perceptive enough to notice IF's boredom.

When the three of them stepped out of the bus in front of Lastation's main Basilicom, it was the first time in this country that IF felt vaguely reminded of home. Not for the aesthetics, but because the towering office complex in front of her blotted out the night sky. She knew that on top of this ordinary-looking building was another structure, made of coloured glass, metal, and cloth. A dome, a mansion, several terraces, and more. She saw pictures of it gleaming in the afternoon sun, contrasting the dark building beneath it.

It had another name, but people commonly referred to the whole building as 'The Black Box', which was an apt title. One that IF was almost certain originated from a little lilac-haired troublemaker she knew.

The three girls entered moments later, with Uni in the lead. Nobody paid attention to them after Uni flashed a card at the clerk in front; everyone around appeared a little lethargic to IF, some slurping coffee as they worked quietly. A few citizens were around as well, talking to an attendant further down the hall.

They strode to the elevators uninterrupted and quickly filed in, the local Candidate's fingers dancing over the panel in a heartbeat and sending them off. Curiously however, they were not set for the top of the building.

When Uni saw IF's confused gaze, she quickly offered an explanation, tone and expression all but daring the human girl to argue: "My sister and I live in the center, not on top. That is mostly there for appearances and special occasions of various kinds."

IF merely nodded, ignoring the little edge Uni had in most of her statements; she had yet to hear her speak in any other way, which implied that it was just one of her quirks. There was no need to get worked up about it.

The elevator soon slowed down, surprising IF who had become used to riding up four hundred storeys regularly. Her little group filed out on the seventeenth storey, lights flicking on as sensors registered their movement. The corridor was deserted this early in the morning, allowing them to pass through unseen under Uni's lead.

It took but a minute before the Lastationite stopped in front of a particular door; IF took note of the engraved hammer and anvil on its center, Lastation's crest. "This is Kei's, uh, our Oracle's office," Uni explained casually as she opened the door. "My home is right behind it."

Almost immediately, the plasteel floor was replaced by a dark blue carpet that lined Jinguji Kei's office; IF had heard of her, though only a little. Oracles were not particularly public figures. This woman was yet young, replacing Ganache after his recent retirement; an Economics major and also quite strict, but fair.

They followed Uni through the empty room, IF noting the immaculately kept desk, before wandering through another door with the same crest as seen before. It opened just as easily, revealing that it was not locked; the carpet remained the same, making it appear more as if Kei was the CPUs' receptionist.

IF gingerly slipped out of her boots and lined them up at the door while her friends simply reabsorbed theirs, immediately walking on white and black socks respectively. This area had no automatic light however; once Uni flipped a switch, the new area was illuminated and revealed to be a hallway. Before IF could take in more of it, a beautifully crafted wallpaper took her attention and kept it for long moments.

The craft depicted a leanboxian pasture, lying peacefully with flowers blooming and a little creek making its way between the grass. From its grade of detail, IF was confused she could not hear the water gurgle by for a moment.

Once she realised she had been all but drawn into the painting, IF blinked at it and turned her eyes away. Nepgear and Uni were both eyeing her curiously, though they immediately acted as if they had not. She considered asking, but decided not to and instead took in the remaining hallway. It led a little further inside, fine furniture soon lining the walls. The walls quickly turned sideways to the left and right, with a mostly open area in the center. It took a moment for IF to realise this hallway was actually circular.

In the center of this circle was a staircase, with a set of stairs leading up and one leading down; they were mirrored on the other side. Once IF took a few steps inside and could look down, she saw that the two sets met at the lower floor.

"That kind of reaction is rather normal," Uni provided with a satisfied note. "Everything in here was made by my sister, and it shows." IF nodded mutely, still enamored with the sheer quality of everything around herself. The lastationite Candidate tapped her shoulder to get her attention, though. Then she pointed at a door on the opposite side, "That is the kitchen," at one to their left, "that is the storeroom," and at one to the right "and that is our workshop."

IF only had time to note that the doors were placed in right angles from each other, then Uni's finger had wandered upward. "Our bedrooms and the guest bedrooms are up there." Then below. "And our offices are down there. Also the bathroom, if you need it."

The raven-haired girl gave her a moment to digest the information, then made a motion for the upper floor. "You can go up ahead, I want to tell Sis I'm home."

But before either visitor could start walking, the door right ahead of them swung open and revealed another woman. IF's eyes widened at her sight, taking in what was obviously Black Heart; even outside of HDD, her appearance was striking. The same sharp eyes Uni displayed, a deep red that seemed to bore into her very soul when their gazes met. The same black hair, though considerably longer and held in twintails instead of being done up. The same regal features, though significantly more relaxed.

Where Uni appeared as if she was trying hard to keep herself composed and portray an air of superiority, this woman effortlessly drove the impression home, making IF straighten more than she already had. Her gait was measured, careful yet without hesitation; a skirt of solemn grey swished around her calves as she walked, making her almost appear as if floating toward them. IF absently took note of the fact her dark blue top held red and blue ornaments, and that it was bulging a little around the chest.

Quickly averting her gaze and seeing that nobody else was moving, the brunette stood still and waited for the CPU to reach them; she held a cup in her hand, the liquid within hardly even moving. The other was holding up a sheet of paper which the woman was reading from, though her eyes obviously did not miss the three of them. The momentary wait at least gave IF enough time to get herself together and look up; she had had no time to prepare for this properly, but her mind was kicking back into gear by this point.

Black Heart's lips curled into an easy smile as the paper was lowered and her eyes focussed on her Candidate. "Welcome back, Uni. I see you found them well enough." Then they wandered from the happily nodding Uni to their visitors. "And welcome back, Nepgear."

The purplette immediately returned the smile, though IF noticed that she was also standing at attention. "I'm sorry to bother you again so soon, miss Noire."

However, the older CPU waved her off with a dismissive motion. "None of that, it is fine. As always." Then her eyes focussed on IF, taking in her appearance curiously in a single sweep. "And you would be IF." There was no hostility in her voice, yet IF was inclined to bow her head in a placating gesture anyway. She only slowly managed to shake that off, though it helped to concentrate on Noire's musings: "After what Neptune told me, I am quite happy to have you here. Welcome to Lastation. I am Black Heart, Noire."

After switching her cup into the left hand, Noire held out her right; IF stared at it dumbly for a moment before moving her own, shaking it. "I-It's an honour, Lady Black Heart," she stammered, though the CPU did not seem to mind or care. Her grip was strong, strong enough to ground IF and make her return it in force; she knew she needed not hold back here, and it earned her an appreciative nod.

Noire cast another look at the three teens, then turned on her heels and sauntered toward the staircase. "I have some more paperwork to get done tonight. You two will be staying here for the next two weeks, so get your things up to the guest bedrooms and then get yourself into my office." She did not look back, though her words were clearly meant as an order.

The human girl took a deep breath and exchanged looks with Nepgear, who shrugged in return; there was a hint of mirth in her expression, though IF had no time to address it before Uni took charge again with a clap of her hands. "You heard her, hop, hop."

Both Planeptunians followed her without complaint, though IF felt decidedly less impressed with the younger girl's demeanor. Now that she saw the original, so to speak, she found that Uni could not compare. She kept that thought to herself, though; Uni was obviously trying hard to follow in her sister's footsteps.

Once they reached the upper floor, they were greeted by a small corridor with four doors; in difference to the Purple siblings, the Black sisters had separated their rooms; they were each marked with red signs, Noire's right up ahead and Uni's next to it. To the left and right was a door each.

As IF still took in the setup, Nepgear zipped over to one of the rooms without signs and opened the door. That left the other room for her, which she got to immediately; her suitcase rolled after her as she opened the other door and stepped inside. She mostly just pushed the luggage against the bed, though; there was no need for anything in it at the moment.

The ticking of a mechanical clock caught IF's attention, telling her on a glance that it was now three in the morning. Another four hours until sunrise, but she felt energetic and ready for the day. While she knew the tiredness would set in around noon, IF was also aware that she had time now.

Her eyes fell on the bed she would be sleeping in the next two weeks, noting that it was almost queen-sized; white sheets and a big pillow greeted her gaze, promising a good rest once it was time to lie down.

With her things put away for the moment, IF strode out of her room and gently closed the door. Uni was waiting for them with her eyes closed and arms crossed, lost in thought; she snapped out of whatever musings she had when Nepgear closed her room's door as well, red eyes going from one Planeptunian to the other. She did not speak though, merely motioned for them to follow.

The CPUs' office, once they entered, revealed itself to be somewhat similar to what she had already seen in Planeptune: the room itself was fairly large, illuminated by indirect lighting; it held sparse furnishings, a throng of different machines from scanners to printers, and their desks. The main difference IF saw was that there were only two of the latter, as Histoire had integrated her office into that of the CPUs back at home; where her and Nepgear's desks were pushed together with Neptune's at their sides, Uni and Noire had theirs arranged next to each other instead.

Only one desk was currently occupied, the same woman she saw a few minutes earlier working quietly; IF could see neat stacks of papers sitting near her elbows, partly hidden by a large screen. No keyboard in sight though, possibly below the desk proper. Noire jutted down notes and filled in blanks on two sheets simultaneously, one with each hand. Sometimes she switched the pens to her pinky and ring fingers to grab a seal placed with her other supplies.

All of them paused for a long moment to behold the simple elegance; Noire never once interrupted her routine, fluidly moving from one paper to the next.

"Some work came in for you as well, Uni. Take care of it first, would you?" she asked absentmindedly. Uni immediately complied and slipped behind her own desk, going through the sheets on it and getting to work. Then Noire's hands slowed and one of her eyes flicked up to take in IF. A weak smile played around the woman's lips. "Please do not take my lack of form as an offense; I simply do not have the time to take longer breaks."

However, IF quickly shook her head in understanding. "It's fine," she all but blurted out, "I don't want to keep you from your work." Yet she was still surprised, and it showed on her face; and IF knew that Noire knew, seeing that her hands paused in their tireless work, allowing the CPU to direct both eyes her way. An immaculate eyebrow rose in silent question; the very same gesture she saw from Uni before, but with so much more impact. The brunette averted her gaze and sheepishly shuffled her feet. "It's, uh... you and Nep are like polar opposites is all."

Her admission made Noire chuckle; she went back to work at the same time, offering IF a smile. "My Makers say that a lot, and you are all right about it. Then again, it would be boring if we were all the same."

"Meaning," Nepgear stage-whispered to IF with a smirk, hidden from Noire behind a hand, "she actually likes when Sis jumps on her back and pets her head."

There was a notable pause in Noire's movements; Uni gaped at the grinning purplette while IF blinked. Then Nepgear was out of the door with a giggle, right before a ballistic pen impacted it and shattered. Noire grumbled something under her breath, then took a deep breath and cast a glance at Uni. "Do not throw things at people. I am happy that you want to protect my dignity, but this is not the right way to go about it."

The younger CPU immediately lowered her head while IF still tried to make sense of what just happened. She was taken out of this endeavor by Noire, who addressed her once again: "My apologies for that. Back to the topic at hand, I heard that you wish to take care of your business yourself." She marked a passage and looked up again, meeting IF's gaze. "In this case however, as it is your first visit to Lastation, we believe it is better to give you someone more knowledgeable to ask for advice.

"'We'," Noire noted after a moment, "means Neptune and myself in this case." She waited for IF to nod, then continued with a hint of disappointment: "As proud as I am of my craftsmen and manufactories, I know best that more than a few of them have grown arrogant over their expertise. Some even overestimate the quality they are capable of producing. That will not do."

Once it was clear she was done, IF let out a sigh and lowered her head. "Alright, I guess." She was not too happy with the matter, but could see the wisdom in it. "Then I am in your hands."

Noire nodded before motioning toward Uni, who had already worked through most of her little pile. "It is good to know you will not make trouble for my sister." She paused for a long moment, apparently waiting for the younger CPU to finish.

IF considered interrupting and decided she might as well take the opportunity. Yet she sounded more hesitant than she herself liked: "Um, may I ask a question?" Once Noire nodded, she asked away: "Why exactly are you making the effort to help me of all people?"

This made Uni slow and gathered Noire's full attention; IF had a few ideas, but it still felt weird to her that two thirds of the pantheon were interested in helping her.

However, Noire only huffed, a much warmer smile playing around her lips as her features softened. "You really do not know?" IF shook her head, and the woman across the desk sighed, though her smile did not waver. "It is because we are grateful, Neptune in particular."

The unexpected response made IF blink in stunned silence, which Noire smoothly filled: "The incident a few months back was noticed around the world, especially after Neptune made sure to edit most of Nepgear's parts out for her secrecy. Even without that, we recognise your capability, and that you protected planeptunian citizens where the gods could not. You got paid money for the monster you helped kill, but the lives you saved that day can not be given a pricetag. For that, Neptune will always make sure you are well and taken care of."

While IF began to take in what she had just been told, Noire breathed in slowly; then her lips twitched. Her smile held, though it almost turned into a smirk. "Not to mention that you already had our interest when you became friends with Nepgear. Heh, not that the other two knew your face before that day."

"What do you mean?" a curious Nepgear rejoined the conversation from behind the door, peeking past it to see if any more pens would come flying. IF had no response to any of this anyway, so she kept quiet and waited what else she might learn; her mind slowly settled from its turmoil, trying to make sense of the fact she was special to a CPU.

Noire merely threw a calm look at the planeptunian Candidate in the meantime. "Neptune kept a tight lid on IF as long as she could; the only reason I found out ahead of time was that Uni met her." She offered a weak smile and went back to work. "After that incident, they easily pieced together who it was you made friends with."

IF did not really understand why she would be kept a secret from other CPUs, but she had the feeling there was more to this; more that she likely did not want to process right now. Noire, who noticed her expression with a passing glance, did not expand further. Instead, she took the sound of plastic on wood for what it was. "You did good time, Uni. Now off with you three, you should go and get started on the day. We can talk at a later time."

"Okay!" Uni beamed at the praise and quickly twirled around her desk to usher IF out of the room. The brunette obediently left and soon the door closed behind them.

Noire was left by herself, with a lot of work still to be done. She nonetheless paused for a moment and considered the place where IF's back had vanished.

Of course, just being in Neptune's good graces was not the only reason they paid special attention.

Noire was not entirely sure what her old friend saw in this girl, but she could guess it well enough. She knew the type by heart, and found many important qualities in her during this short conversation. Not just from her words, though.

IF stood straight like an arrow, even while relaxed. She moved fluidly yet precisely, wasting barely any motion. That was not a starry-eyed child's stance, it was that of a warrior. Her deeds spoke for themselves, especially at such a young age.

In fact, she was much like Neptune in that regard; relaxed yet ready, never once off guard. Always prepared to fight with the ferocity of a beast, should it be required.

Noire was actually amazed that IF had not noticed it herself, even if it could be easily explained with her gaping inferiority complex. Neptune held back on a Maker for years.

And now, after meeting the girl herself, Lastation's CPU knew with certainty who that seat was reserved for.

She merely hoped that IF would not break herself before that time.


	26. A Princess Reborn 3

_I guess this break is useful for me, too. The team still doesn't get along all that well. I know, we have to work together... and it does _work_, but we still do not have much in common. Do not get me wrong, sis: we are all professional enough to work past that, but... I am glad I get some time away from them. Nepgear and IF are much easier to get along with._

-Uni

* * *

The sight from atop an airport was great.

Six platforms were arrayed above the highest buildings of Nordral, forming a hexagon around the central elevator shaft leading up to them; even the Basilicom did not reach this high.

IF once again shivered under the cold wind running through her clothes and hair. They actually flapped a little in the gale as she looked down at the city.

Nepgear had not lied; the feeling was like few others. IF also felt the tiniest bit uncomfortable being so far up high, though the feeling did not make it far before being crushed by wonder.

Passengers already entered most of the nine airships currently anchored over all of the platforms while she was taking in the view. Nobody paid them any mind or bothered them, so IF could look to her heart's content while Nepgear and Uni whispered with each other about something that the wind carried away.

The airships themselves, she found after turning her eyes at last, were huge. At least a hundred metres in length and twenty metres wide, their silver frames held enormous, pitch black balloons. There were also several machine guns and two mortars mounted on the frames, currently checked by maintenance staff; from what IF could see, the weapons were mounted on movable platforms to cover all angles.

"Impressive sights, are they not?" Nepgear curiously asked after a moment; the purplette's eyes were roaming the airships as well. IF merely offered an agreeing noise while her eyes wandered into the distance; this was the central airport, but there were four more in this city alone. She had not seen them during the night, but they were hard to miss by daylight. Nothing else even reached so far into the sky.

When they agreed to sightsee the first day, Uni had mentioned that tourists loved these tours by air; now that IF stood here, she could understand why.

At half past eight in the morning, she was still in a mostly clear state of mind; from the three available tours, ranging from one over three to six hours, she knew the last one might leave her tired. Yet somehow, Uni and Nepgear had managed to convince her of taking that one; while more sitting around did not appeal to IF, the potential view made up for it. Arguments about how pricy those tours were went ignored, seeing that Uni insisted on footing the bill as their host.

At this point, IF was looking forward to it anyway, even on the potential risk of falling asleep mid-flight.

The three young women soon turned to enter one of the 'Large Lastation Tour'-airships, stepping up to a clerk in front of it; the line there was small, so they soon reached the counter and Uni ordered their tickets.

Just like that, they were in; an attendant quickly took to leading them to their seats, passing fleeting glances to the three as they walked. IF could empathise with the slightly older woman; Nepgear and Uni were stunning even while dressed casually.

"Oh, right," their attendant noted as they reached a booth marked with the numbers on their tickets, "do you mind sharing compartments, in case no other is free?"

From passing glances into other booths, IF already knew there were four seats in each, the many segments anchored securely to each other and the airship's main frame. There was also a larger hall to sit in, which included lunch, but she categorically refused that one after Uni already insisted on paying; it was even more expensive.

She quickly exchanged glances with her friends, who both shrugged. So she did the same. "We don't mind."

"Wonderful," the attendant noted, a smile finding its way on her face. "Please enjoy yourselves; we will be starting in about... twenty minutes," she noted professionally; after a glance at her wristwatch, that was. "Six hours can be a long time; if you brought no food and drink of your own, there is a small shop down the corridor."

With that, she left the three to settle into their compartment; it was about as spacious as those on the train, with wide windows that offered a full view of the landscape. IF quickly secured herself a seat by the window, with Nepgear taking the other and Uni sitting next to the purplette without much thought. "There is a switch to retract the floorboard, the window reaches that far down; you are not afraid of heights, are you?"

IF shook her head and Uni quickly worked on a panel near the entrance; a moment and some rumbling later, she could see straight down with a whistle. "This is not the default state to accomodate passengers who do not do well with heights," the lastationite Candidate provided helpfully.

They took a minute to look around the place, settling down and sinking into their seats; they were comfortable, perhaps a little too much to IF's liking. She could already see the battle with sleep approaching. It was also warm inside, with the wind harmlessly whistling outside of the window; warm enough for IF to undo some of her coat's clasps.

Silence reigned as the three waited, both Candidates without a topic to discuss for once; IF did not particularly mind the quiet, spending it by looking out at the city below and noting how different it was. Dull in comparison to the shine of Planeptune's cities, but just as lively and with a completely different flair.

Nobody else entered their compartment, so it was but the three of them when the clock struck eight and a hum ran through the structure around them. "Good morning and welcome to the Lastation Tour," a pleasantly deep voice rang out from speakers above them. "I will be your captain today, and we will see the wonders of this great nation together." There was definitely warmth in his voice, making IF listen curiously while they started to leave the docking platform behind. "I hope that all on board will enjoy themselves."

He did not say anything noteworthy, but that did not really matter. Once he stopped, IF's attention returned to the sensation of movement; looking down once more drove home that she was flying. She was in the only realm that allowed civilian air travel.

Even with what little she recalled from flying with Purple Heart months earlier, she knew this was different in many little ways, the biggest of which was that IF could actually sit comfortably... but even then, she felt far less secure than she had in the CPU's arm.

She had considered applying for the air force a few times over the years, reasoning that flying would also be an incredible thing to do; however, her dream would not stop for such things and it ultimately became little more than idle speculation.

Her attention was soon taken by the landscape as their ride left the city borders; they could see far and wide, taking in the lush forests covering most of Lastation's surface. Golden traces ran through them, foretelling of autumn. Another vast city soon appeared on the horizon, far distant while the captain kept telling them about the nation.

Uni and Nepgear had obviously heard this before, but IF listened with interest; at some point, Nepgear mentioned that lastationite cities were usually vaster than planeptunian ones, mainly because they did not grow as much in three dimensions.

A while later, they hovered over a wide clearing in the forested area, revealing a much different city from the others they saw before; most of its space was taken up by farmland and animals wandered around in their pens, with there being comparably less people around. This quickly got IF's attention as she compared the sight with what pictures she had seen from planeptunian farming-cities; even though their nation could synthesize a lot of foods, most of the base materials were produced there.

Around the three-hour mark, they had headed toward the mountains and began to rise further upward; IF was reasonably certain that this was not the central mountain range separating large parts of Lowee, Lastation, and Planeptune, but it was impressive nonetheless.

"And here," the captain provided enthusiastically, "we see the outside of Lastation's largest military base. The entire upper half of this mountain was holed out and turned into a fortress, though you could not say from the outside. Due to how it is covered in fog for most of the year, it is called the silent hill." Meanwhile, they began to notice a few funnels reaching out of the rocky surface; he was right in that one could not tell there was a military presence within.

However, things had begun to repeat themselves even before this point; the tour hit the more impressive sights in intervals, with mostly the same scenery in-between; many of those sights were not even reachable from the capital, considering that these airships did not fly particularly fast and had to get back there at the end.

IF found herself talking with her companions during those times, seeing that there was not much to be seen and tiredness slowly began to creep into her mind. She even considered lying down to nap, but chased the thought away in the knowledge of what it would do to her sleeping cycle.

Her attention was soon taken by Uni, who steepled her fingers and leaned forward in a business-like manner. "You are here for business, correct?" On IF's nod, a confident smile grew on the CPU's face. "Then we should get to it. What kind of weapon do you prefer to work with?"

She spent a moment wondering whether Nepgear had not told her best friend about that, but complied without a fuss, curious what Uni was going to make of the matter. "I have been using katars for a few years now. It's easiest for me to channel magic through my hands, so I rather have them free just in case, and I think I work better with two weapons than one."

Nepgear hid a smile for some reason, though Uni's expression did not change in the slightest; all she did was lowering her head in thought. IF ignored the purplette and waited.

A moment later, she got her response in form of a slightly reluctant question: "I see. Would it be acceptable if I made a pair for you?" When she got bewildered looks from _both_ older girls, the youngest quickly defended herself. "You'll need the quality with how much abuse you push your weapons through, and I was looking for something to practice on anyway! I can't be anything less than the best as Noire's sister."

The misunderstanding clear, IF sighed and shook her head. "That's- ugh. My problem with this is that I'm already uncomfortable with how much you guys help me. I won't ask a friend to do that much work for me."

Her response brought Uni up short, the CPU's eyes growing wide in surprise. IF observed in interest how her face went through a wide range of expressions in an instant before settling down once more. Nepgear's confusion had morphed into mirth, though the brunette was not exactly sure why.

"CPU-crafted weapons are incredibly well made," Nepgear noted when no answer was forthcoming, eyes wandering back and forth between Uni and IF. "They are about as pricy. Considering that Uni mainly wants to practice," she offered, "you could pay her for the raw materials and work hours, so both of you get out of it even. Would that be better?"

Both girls stared at their friend for a moment, not having expected a solution this good to be found so fast, but that was Nepgear for you, finding ways for everyone to be happy with something. IF snorted. "I never even thought of that, good call. If that's fine with you, Uni?" To which the younger Candidate nodded with a smile.

Nepgear immediately brightened. "So IF gets new weapons and Uni has a little boost for her allowance. Everyone wins."

This, however, caught IF by surprise; she almost raised an eyebrow at her friend, confused. Then her gaze wandered to Uni as a familiar feeling began to pull at the back of her head. "You're working for the Guild by now, right? What do you need an allowance for?"

The younger girl just gave her a flat look; yet, after meeting Noire, it no longer had the effect it had the first time they met. She sounded positively scandalised nonetheless: "I do not have a salary at the Guild; that would be taking money from my people for doing what I'm supposed to do."

This was news to IF, but a glance to Nepgear only brought her a nod and the understanding that her partner was the same. "Huh, I didn't know that. Makes sense though, now that you mention it." She never thought about the matter before and once again realised that normal assumptions about people were a thing to be questioned when with CPUs.

Their conversation was interrupted when the speakers cracked to life, though. "Everyone, quick," the captain blubbered excitedly, "take a look to our right; it's the Lady!" He sounded more like a boy waiting for presents, but IF could understand the sentiment; she turned her head toward the window, ignoring the shuffling in the hallway. The feeling from earlier strengthened into something she could recall; the smallness of being in the presence of gods, and the warmth of being protected.

Far out in the sky was Lady Black Heart, right in front of a hulking, purple figure that lazily rolled through the winds. A Whale.

The high-class monster closed the distance, attacking without hesitation; IF could barely even see that Black Heart moved, a single streak of silver piercing right through the enormous bulk and severing it. The Whale burst into particles immediately, completely silent to them.

Then however, someone knocked on their compartment's door and opened it a moment later, revealing themselves to be a middle-aged man with dark blond hair. His eyes quickly darted back and forth between the girls, noting who was inside. "Excuse me, is it be okay if we come in here for a moment to see the Lady?"

The three girls exchanged glances, but there was no need to even discuss. Nepgear offered him a warm smile. "We don't mind at all. Please come on in."

He smiled thankfully and entered while IF scurried over to squeeze in with her friends who made room for her. A woman followed after him, with two little girls at her hands; all of them offered them thankful smiles and the children whispered excitedly with each other when they all began to feel the CPU's presence in earnest.

IF's eyes were on both of them for a long moment and she tried her best to ignore how her shoulder was rubbing against Nepgear's; she noted how neither her nor Uni seemed to mind being pushed together before turning her head to the window. The little family had sat down opposite to them, with the children on their parents' laps.

Black Heart was currently closing in on the airship, soon reaching close enough to look around. Her hands were empty, the weapon she carried long since vanished; her black armour carefully covered her entire body, leaving only a bit of creamy skin free around her neck; silver hair ran down her form, ethereal in its beauty and barely visible in the bright sunlight.

IF had been around CPUs often enough not to suffer from soundless awe anymore. She knew that neither of her friends was affected at all and carefully kept her eyes on the lone figure swaying in the wind. Black Heart's head turned gently as she looked into each compartment, a hand raised in greeting.

Then the CPU hovered closer, soon leaving their sight before reappearing from the front; this time she looked directly into their compartment, smiling at everyone inside. The children squealed in delight, making wide eyes at the goddess while the parents gently bowed their heads. Black Heart did not react to the gesture, and her eyes soon met IF's; a hint of amusement played over the beauty's face, then her gaze wandered further. Uni smiled at her big sister, who returned the smile before falling back over and out of sight, blurring away in the distance.

The family of four left them alone soon after, thanking the three girls again for allowing them; IF simply smiled while they left, and then returned to her own seat.

"Noire is really impressive," Nepgear noted with a smile while pushing away from Uni, the younger Candidate preening over the compliment. "She is; as her sister, I have to work my hardest."

Her response sounded a little weird to IF, but she considered it to be CPU-weirdness when Nepgear did not react to it; the purplette was nodding along happily. "I know what you mean. I want to help sis as much as I can, too." But even then, it did not sound weird how Nepgear said it. Only from Uni.

However, she had little time to contemplate the matter; once she was agreed with, Uni turned back to IF with a gleam in her eyes. "Alright, seeing that you let me do the job, we should talk details."

Suddenly, IF realised that this would be a _long_ day.

**. .**

**. .**

As it turned out, one of the degrees Uni already held was in economics. She quickly and efficiently walked IF through every step necessary for her new weapons, even a few the brunette had never even thought were required. By the end of it, a lot of time had passed and IF sat with the beginning of a headache from trying to cram so many little details into her head. Uni merely appeared happy with herself and jutted down a few more notes. "Okay, that should be everything. I can get the materials within a day and start... around tomorrow morning, I think?"

IF nodded and blinked against the bright sunlight streaming in through the window; it quickly faded as they finished their turn, in time for Uni to continue: "We need to take a few measurements once we get back, so I can make them form-fitting."

Nepgear mercifully interrupted her fellow Candidate, pointing at the window with a thumb. "We should be back soon, I can see the city." And she was right, Nordral had appeared in the distance; the first sign that their ride drew to a close.

Not much later, the three of them slowly walked out of the airship and into the lastationite afternoon. IF grumbled weakly about having to sit around for hours again, stretching herself as subtly as possible on the way out; Nepgear hid her smile and Uni just huffed good-naturedly.

Ultimately, it had been an interesting experience. Yet IF was happy to get back to walking around.

"We should get something to eat," Uni decided after a look back at IF; the human girl had not said anything, but all of them had heard her stomach growl on occasion. "It is time for lunch anyway, and we can get back after that. There is still enough time to show you around the city later."

They quickly filed into a bus, but found no seats this time; instead, the three spread out over the middle section to stand and IF spent her time staring out of the window; it took her a while to notice the goings-on outside, however. The further they rode toward the outskirts of town, the more tourists she could see. The planeptunian swirl of colours, Loweeans in far too short clothes for the temperatures, and the darker-skinned Leanboxians mixed in.

An inquisitive gaze toward Uni was answered with a weak smile and a nod. "Ah, yes. There is one thing I wanted you to see now, and there is a nice restaurant nearby."

With that cleared up, IF did not have to wait much longer for what Uni wanted to show her; the bus finished climbing a slope and stopped in front of a small plaza, which held a sight she knew well. Uni ushered them both out of the vehicle and took a few steps out of the way of passersby, which the other two followed.

IF's eyes were on the statue taking up the plaza's center, though. No different from the one she passed during her morning runs every few days, it portrayed the four CPUs in quiet unity; Purple Heart, Black Heart, White Heart, and Green Heart, crafted from stone otherwise unseen in Gamindustri. The four were arranged in an outward-facing circle, gently grasping each others' hands; a careful guess told her each of those was about twice the size of the actual goddess. Where they stood, the material took the respective deity's colour; where their hands touched, the colours merged.

As they slowly wandered closer in silence, she recalled the specifics of this monument, the Memorial of Unity; a national treasure in every right, four of those statues had been crafted when the Console War ended without a clear conclusion. Everyone had joined hands in its creation; Leanbox had brought forth the finest marble, which was sculpted by Lastation's finest artisans under designs forwarded from Lowee. Purple Heart herself had imbued the stone with Share Energy to take its unnatural colour, setting the piece apart from any that could follow.

As they were made to represent the reestablished unity of Gamindustri, its deities, and its people, one such statue had been placed in each capital city. A quiet reminder to man and god alike.

It felt different here, with a slightly strange quality to the air and surrounded by neatly crafted wooden facades and dark stone instead of gleaming metal; the monument held IF's attention for long minutes. Both Nepgear and Uni remained by her side, all of them quietly tracing the CPUs features with their eyes.

After a while, the human girl nodded to herself and slowly turned to leave, making way for other people moving in; once they left the crowd behind, Nepgear began to wonder: "Now that I think about it... I never heard sis speak about it. Or any of the others, for that matter."

Uni sighed while IF turned her head, the lastationite CPU's gaze turned into the distance. "I asked my sister about it once, but she did not want to talk about it. The others probably don't want to, either." She sounded a tad disappointed, though mostly understanding; IF understood the sentiment as well. The goddesses had fought one another for the better part of three hundred years, certainly they would feel uncomfortable about it in retrospect.

Neither of them continued on the subject; Uni quickly took the lead, food in mind.


	27. A Princess Reborn 4

_Even with all my strength... ugh. Stupid abomination, even my freaking eleventh hour upgrade couldn't turn the tide. At least you're dying, too..._

_I'm sorry, Histy, she got me. Take care of everyone left, yes? Uzume... Uzume is going to sleep now._

-Orange Heart

* * *

"Ah, welcome back," an unfamiliar voice greeted them upon returning; due to how they just entered the Oracle's office however, IF had a good idea who was talking to them. She entered after Uni, who nodded at the woman in response.

Jinguji Kei was on the shorter side and petite, yet her features were sharp and her gaze immediately took in IF as someone new; there was also knowledge swimming in those blue eyes, as she merely offered a friendly nod instead of asking questions. IF took note of her short, grey hair as well as the fine suit she wore; appearance-wise, the person in front of her encorporated business almost better than the deity she served.

Kei broke the momentary silence, casting a curious gaze from one girl to the other. "I do hope you came to a mutually favourable agreement?"

Uni merely rolled her eyes in good humour, but nodded. "I do not know how you found out about this so fast, but yes. Anyway, this is IF." She motioned for the brunette, who nodded with a weak smile while Uni turned her way and motioned for Kei. "Not that introductions are really necessary. This is Jinguji Kei, our Oracle."

"A pleasure." "Likewise."

That was the extent of pleasantries they exchanged; Kei went back to work and Uni moved on into her home, the other two following.

Once the first set of measurements was complete however, IF stopped the CPU from any further action. "Say, do you mind if I go and do some exercises for now? I'm getting itchy."

The Lastationite blinked, but shook her head; the next steps of her work were already being planned. "I don't mind at all. You can use the Maker's gym below ground, uh... Nepgear? Can you show her the way? I need to do some work for sis now."

"Sure," the purplette agreed without missing a beat, then she got up and ushered IF out of the room.

While the other two were on their way down, Uni put away her tape measure and notes, then got up and sauntered down to her and Noire's office. She quickly took her seat without a word exchanged between the sisters, picking up papers immediately while her computer booted up and glancing at Noire in-between. The older CPU was busy writing on two sheets at once, a skill that Uni had always found cool. She had been practicing it herself, but was not yet at a point where she could do it properly, much less with official documents.

A budget report from the science division quickly went through her hands and more followed until Uni's mind had achieved a working state. At that point, she could actually think about something else while working; that day however, like quite a few days before it, Uni was with Nepgear and her apotheosis.

Naturally, she was happy for her friend. Little else was as important to the two of them than to reach adulthood. Yet, Uni also found envy bubbling somewhere deep within herself. Nepgear, sweet and caring Nepgear, was capable of transforming. She, the Black Sister, was not.

She did not understand what held her back; they were peers, so if Nepgear could do it, Uni should be able to do the same by now. She could only barely stop herself from thinking it was not fair; envying her friend's success was already bad enough, but actively believing she deserved it more was not. She had been there and never wanted to go back there.

Yet Uni kept wondering why Nepgear was first to become an adult.

That question went back and forth in her mind for hours, though she once again found no answer. By the time she stopped, it was already late in the afternoon and Kei had joined them to discuss the taxes with Noire.

In the middle of their conversation however, Nepgear peeked into the room and was immediately waved in. She had a flushed and sweaty IF in tow, who, despite her obvious exhaustion, appeared positively delighted. Both Kei and Uni paused at the sight, exchanging glances with each other to see whether a response was forthcoming. When she got none, Lastation's Candidate closed her eyes for a moment and looked to Nepgear.

Her friend appeared a little sheepish as she explained: "I, uh, I think she went overboard. I walked her through the Makers' training regimen."

IF merely huffed in response, throwing a glance at Nepgear and shaking her head. "I still don't believe that was all of it. Those were pretty hard to do, but my own exercises are at least as demanding in total." Going by the telling _look_ Nepgear threw at the gathered Lastationites, it _had_ been the entirety of their Makers' daily training. Kei's eyes widened fractionally while Uni and Noire rolled theirs, their respective reactions indicative of those who did not know IF and those who did.

All CPUs were aware that IF would not have it and thus did not even try to convince her otherwise. Noire easily distracted everyone with a curt remark, though: "You look like you should take a shower." She remained friendly about it, but IF immediately snapped to attention, then blinked down at herself and... blushed.

It was a sight Uni had not seen before, though she could guess the reason; IF smelled. Enough for them to notice, and probably enough for herself to notice. She also just realised that she was smelling in a room full of deities, which explained how fast she nodded and rushed out of the door.

Uni wondered at times what it was like to actually reek; as far as she knew, her own fragrance of the sea did not change at all no matter what she did. She knew she could sweat like a human if exerted far enough, but it was always scentless. Same for her sister and every other CPU. At this point, Uni had chalked it up as one of the things their bodies did to appear more human, but without the downsides.

"That reminds me," Noire noted with a glance at the two Candidates. "You two should do your meditations and stances."

""Of course!"" And with quick steps, both Nepgear and Uni vanished out of the room, taking the suggestion for what it was; even for Nepgear who was not related to her, Noire held authority as an elder.

**. .**

**. .**

When IF returned a bit later, clad in a simple track suit and with her hair still damp, only Lastation's CPU was left in her office; she worked quietly, though the brunette knew her entrance was noticed. Noire only confirmed it when she spoke up a moment later: "Uni and Nepgear went to do their own exercises."

While she sounded conversational, IF could tell that the CPU would not like being interrupted for no reason. She nodded slowly. "Um, if you have a moment," she started reluctantly, "there was something I wanted to ask you...?" It sounded more like a question than IF liked, but she could not help herself; of course it would be easy to just quell all her hesitation, but that might as well come off as demanding and accidentally insult a goddess.

It turned out her fear was for naught; Noire finished writing with a flourish and put her seal on the paper in front of her, then pushed it aside and folded her hands on the desk. "Go ahead," she allowed with a nod. "I might as well take a little break."

IF nodded in turn and shook off her hesitation. Demanding from a CPU, she reasoned, was more likely to be forgiven than wasting her time. So instead of being reluctant again, she immediately got to the point: "I was thinking about Uni's behaviour the last few hours; _something_ is weird about it, but I can't put my finger on what exactly it is."

She faintly recalled something that Neptune told her about CPUs and how their personalities could shift when Nepgear had her apotheosis, but everything else that happened on this particular day blurred it out somewhat. Nepgear did not appear to have noticed, or may just take it as a given because she had known Uni for so long.

Noire's brow creased in a frown, but it was not directed at IF; the CPU motioned for her to continue, but she could only shrug. "I wanted to ask you about it first before I start doing something potentially stupid; if anyone knows, it must be you." This time, she got an understanding smile out of the Lastationite. Noire's amused huff told her everything she needed to know.

"Good call, IF," she eventually began, growing more serious immediately. IF straightened a little while the CPU got out of her chair, so they could see eye to eye. "As you of all people should know, even us CPUs have quirks and little oddities like basically every regular human. Some more, some less." Red eyes were hidden for a long moment when Noire closed her lids and turned to the side, arms crossed. Once they opened again, IF found that she was still in their focus even from the side. "I am aware of what you mean, and it concerns me as well. Sadly, I noticed this too late and can do nothing about it at the current time."

IF blinked over the admission. "If I may ask," she started slowly, only to be interrupted with a stern look.

"No, you may not."

Noire did not sound happy about the matter, but she made herself clear. "If you wish to help Uni, you need to understand what exactly is wrong by yourself. As much as I want to, and as much as I want you to, Neptune and I agree that our siblings _must_ not be coddled. It is Uni's burden to bear until she manages to push it away; if you want to help her with that, you will have to make an effort of your own."

IF stood quiet, understanding yet also chastised. The goddess heaved a sigh and lowered her arms, giving her an apologeptic look. "My apologies; I did not mean to snap at you. This has been bothering me for a long time and being unable to do something about it is not helping. I know I could do it anyway because no one is stopping me, but..." She hesitated, throwing another glance at IF before shaking her head and turning fully, presenting only her back to the human. "But I want Uni to get past this on her own. If she ever has to inherit Lastation, I want her to have become the very best she could be by herself, not under my tutelage. I can teach her manners and proper conduct, but not this."

Whatever emotion there might be on Noire's face, IF could not see it; the CPU's body gave nothing away. She nodded anyway, but kept quiet to see whether there was more.

"I know you are merely concerned," Noire continued quietly, turning around to face her again; no trace of the emotions her voice hinted at were to be seen. "And I am glad that you care enough to worry." She smiled, a small and barely visible yet honest smile. IF nodded again, fearing that her voice might fail her. She tried to clear her throat discreetly while the woman in front of her waited.

However, there were no words she could really offer in this moment. So instead of continuing, IF nodded once more. "Okay. I'll try to think about this some more."

Going by how Noire's smile widened fractionally, it was the correct answer. The raven-haired woman returned her nod and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing and gently pushing IF at the same time. "I am glad to hear that as well. Good luck, and off with you. The girls will be busy for a while, you're free to use anything you find in here."

And with that, IF was pushed out the door; Noire likely returned to work, leaving her to think and maybe unpack her things for the next two weeks. She felt as if she just set foot into a minefield.


	28. A Princess Reborn 5

_If only I had changed in another way. If only things had been different._

-Blue Heart

* * *

To her own surprise, IF was not surprised to find that the Basilicom had its own forge. Even if this place was mainly used by the CPUs, she had already expected crafting spaces to be around in Lastation of all places.

Her gaze wandered over dark stone and expertly crafted tools, to the metal furnaces on the wall. Uni sat in front of the foremost one, an anvil and other forgery tools right behind her; the former held a crate with metal bars and a few other things. She prepared her tools with measured motions, pushing things this way and that and arranging them in a way that allowed her to grasp each of them easily.

Then however, for some reason IF could not fathom, the CPU donned a leather apron and a heavier set of gloves. Her eyes flicked to the brunette. "I don't need them, but proper conduct is important," she all but challenged IF over her dumbfounded stare, though the human girl merely nodded in understanding. "By the way, you might want to take off that coat if you are staying around. It is going to get hot in here."

IF did as told, trusting the other girl's judgement. Uni's eyes flickered to her once more over the rustling of cloth, and she appeared to take a moment to appraise IF. Then she went back to sorting metal bars, mentally counting how many she would need. "Is there any reason you do not wear more form-fitting clothes?" the CPU asked absent-mindedly. Had she actually looked, she would have found IF turning faintly pink around the ears.

"It's noth... okay, that would have been a lie." The older girl sighed in defeat, deciding to be honest here. "I'm self-concious about my body, and I know how dumb it sounds. I can't help it, though; ever since the start of middle school, people kept staring at me whenever they saw my arms or legs, or any part of me really." Her blush deepened, only to turn into a deep scarlet when Uni responded.

"You realise," the Candidate noted with a sideway glance, "that this is because you look good, yes?" IF fumbled for words, but Uni interrupted her before she could speak: "I know I am not the best person to talk to about this matter, but even I can see as much. Naturally, you can not measure up to us CPUs, but no one expects you to. You are healthy and strong, and that is clearly visible in your appearance." She paused, then began to smirk at IF. "Or... perhaps it bothers you that you can not look girly?"

She got no response, though there was none needed; IF averted her gaze, hands folded in her lap. Uni huffed and shook her head. "I see." It was not that she did not understand, or did not try to understand.

By this point, IF began to get her blush under control and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Do you?" she confronted the other girl, "It's easy to say for one who is the archetype of a beauty without even trying, and still stronger than I can ever be." Her words made Uni's head tilt, though she still did not turn fully to meet her eyes. IF waited.

"Perhaps," the Candidate allowed in the end. "As I said, I am probably not the best person to talk about this. I was just curious because I see no reason to hide yourself like you do. Then again," she added thoughtfully, "it does appear quite convenient to have so many pockets on your person at all times. I need them less because I create most of my necessities at will, but for a human... yes, I can see the appeal."

Then Uni's head actually turned, and she flashed a smirk at IF. "Of course, I can also see how it keeps you from unnecessary attention. From what Nepgear told me, you are not the dating kind." And just like that, the blush returned in force while Uni went back to her work.

IF grumbled under her breath, deciding to give Uni a taste of her own medicine; even if the topic was not meant to fluster her, that last remark definitely was. "Speaking of, do you need any help getting with Nepgear?" By the surprised yelp Uni let out, she had hit a bullseye and gleefully pushed further: "I noticed there is little progress on that end."

When Uni turned to her again, it was with narrowed eyes and a luminous blush of her own. She opened her mouth to speak, but reconsidered and closed it again. When this repeated a few times, IF knew that she won this round.

In the end, the younger girl huffed and shook her head. "Anyway," she muttered, but caught herself and increased her volume to explain. "We are starting with the blades and bracers today. I need them finished before I can prepare the cloth and leather to outfit them with."

She quickly turned around to fire up the furnace, leaving IF with little else to do but watch. She had already decided to leave all of the details to Uni, who was the expert. However, she did have one question she wanted to ask her. Reasoning that now was as good a time as any, IF decided to go for it. "Mind if I ask you something?" Uni hummed a confirmation, though her attention remained on the metal contraption she was working on. "Why do you focus on Lady Noire so much?"

Almost imperceptibly, Uni paused and began to turn her head; IF only saw it by chance, seeing how fast the other girl was back to focussing on the flames in front of her. Nonetheless, she responded: "Wanting to be like my sister is rather normal, don't you think?"

There was a challenge there, one that IF felt she had to take this time. Not that she was happy about it, or actually knew how to approach the topic diplomatically. "I... um... know quite a few pairs of siblings, but I never saw it like this before."

However, Uni merely shrugged. "We are CPUs, so it stands to reason that things may be different for us." Her tone brooked no argument, and IF hesitantly dropped the matter for the time being.

However, the idea did not leave her mind; she _knew_ that _something_ was off, especially after talking to Noire about it. So the day after, while Uni was already working the forge, she decided to get back to it. Unfortunately for IF, she was not used to being in an indoor-forge. It was hot, so much so that she had not only foregone her coat, but her clothes as well; with only Uni around, she did not particularly mind. It helped that the other girl had little more than a shrug for her when she undressed.

Normally, IF would have just kept them on and endured the heat, but the number of times she could change was limited while on a trip. She rather not bother the Basilicom's cleaning staff any more than necessary, and she knew at least her own stubborness well enough. There was a certain irony in the fact Nepgear had noted they were warming up to each other, though; IF had not expected it to be so literal.

The human girl was still sweating of course, and quietly muttering about CPUs and their innate resistance to heat and cold. Yet her goal for the day had not left her mind. She had to do it soon, seeing that Nepgear would fetch them in time to sightsee.

The next time Uni stepped back from the forge, she took her chance. "Uni? About that thing we talked about yesterday..." The younger girl turned her head and blinked as she recalled their last conversation; her brow creased into a frown and she appeared ready to tell her off. IF quickly elaborated: "I'm not sure how to address this, really, but I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on the matter."

Uni's frown ceased slightly, but did not vanish entirely. She took a few steps to the side in thought, paying no mind that she was standing in front of the furnace again. Then she shrugged. "I do not see anything wrong with idolising my big sister; Nepgear is doing the same thing." She folded her arms in front of her chest and gave IF a stern look. "As Noire's younger sibling, I have to work my hardest; I love doing it, too."

IF still had the feeling that something was not right about this explanation, or rather, in how Uni explained the matter. While she still pondered however, the younger girl at her again. "Many people are trying to live like Noire, and the same goes for every other CPU."

She was right and IF knew that; she also knew there had to be some flaw in Uni's logic, but could not put her finger on where it was. "But you are not other people. I'm mostly wondering why _you_ want to be so much like her."

This time however, Uni's eyes narrowed at her. "I just told you that," she hissed, "Noire is a great person and as her sister, I want to be the same as her." Her tone brooked no more argument, and IF reluctantly dropped the matter once again. Uni had made it clear that the conversation was over.

Over the next few days, she only dropped in sporadically; while watching Uni work had been a novel experience for the first two days, IF quickly realised that it was, like most other work, not particularly interesting once one saw it for a while. She had no real interest in smithing either way, which did not help.

Sometimes she brought a book from Noire's library or chatted with Uni, who did not appear to treat her any differently to before she started digging into her mind. Or rather, tried to start on that. So far, IF still had no real idea what the problem was. She also considered asking Nepgear, but figured she would either get no other response than the first time, or worry her friend needlessly.

Her boredom had begun to become a problem, though; IF even started to look into Lastation's Guild, simply because the free time made her jumpy. She was no girly girl, same as the two Candidates, and found no interest in doing meaningless things. She rather do something productive and had nothing to do outside of exercising.

A week after her arrival however, IF stood surprised when no heat welcomed her into the forge. She curiously watched Uni work, gently hammering steel into proper shape, and noted that the furnace was already cooling down.

"Ah, there you are," the Candidate greeted her absentmindedly; she did not even look up, merely continued to work. "I am done. You do not have that much time here, and I want to see you off with those in your bag. So sis and I have been cheating a little on the time with Sharicite; folding the steel would have taken at least another two weeks normally. Get over here."

IF quickly did as told, being offered a pair of metal bracers the moment she approached. "Put those on and keep them on for a few minutes." Seeing that Uni was the expert, the brunette followed her orders without question; what she wanted to ask was answered anyway: "I made them a little more loose, now we are molding them to your arms. Once the mold hardens, I can outfit them properly so they do not chafe."

That explained the wiggly stuff she could feel her skin pushing against. IF carefully adjusted the bracers while Uni wiped one of the blades clean and gingerly placed it into a holding vessel. "I will be done soon... but not today, I need to sleep." Standing right next to the Candidate, IF realised she had the slightest bags under her eyes. The human girl nodded understandingly, but refrained from commenting; she knew by now that Uni preferred it that way.

Still, her thoughts kept revolving around what might be wrong with the younger girl; had she not had Noire's confirmation that something was indeed not right, IF might have long since stopped and decided it was just her being silly. Knowing there was more however, she could not just let this rest.

The following day, she got her chance.

Back at the forge once more, potentially for the last time, Uni presented the complete weapons with a proud smile. "Here we are, a pair of katars." She immediately held them out to IF. "Try them on."

IF gingerly took the weapons, her new weapons, and looked them over for a moment. Two flawless blades, each of them about as long as her forearms after being slid into the bracers and bolted in place tightly; no less than nine bolts kept them, arranged in three rows of three. Its metal gleamed weakly and IF gently put one katar down to push the other onto her arm; the bracer fit perfectly, sliding onto her arm and staying put even without tying any of the three straps.

The young woman gently ran her hand through the reinforced leather straps, noting their thickness and smoothness. Then she pulled the middle one tight, followed by the first and then the third one. They slid over her skin easily, pushing nowhere; a few seconds spent focussing on her arm and hand confirmed that they did not cut off her bloodstream, either.

She carefully repeated the procedure on her left arm and began to move around; Uni observed quietly how IF took a few basic stances, adjusted her new weapons a few times, and then easily ran through flurries of strikes with a speed that surprised the CPU.

Uni had known that IF was good and had a lot of practice, but she found little flaw in her stances and movements, if any at all. The fact that IF had no complaints to offer spoke volumes; they both knew she never held back on something important out of politeness.

IF, for her part, enjoyed the familiar sensation of having weapons strapped to her arms. She had missed this feeling, even if her balance was slightly different now; the blades were longer than on her previous pair.

She was drawn out of her motions by a weak chuckle, which brought her attention back to Uni; the younger girl held an understanding smile and motioned for IF. "I can tell you like them; there are still a few details I need to work out, but this is basically the final product."

The brunette felt a bit embarassed about being caught so entranced, but felt it was justified. "You did great work with this. I can already tell the difference in quality, those will do great." She offered her praise with little thought, and easily ignored the traces of pink appearing on Uni's face. However, her previous thoughts soon broke through and the Candidate took note of that.

Uni became more somber and tilted her head in question. "What is that troubled expression about?" Her eyes stayed on IF's, telling the older girl that she would not get out of this without talking. She considered passing it off for a moment anyway, but decided she might as well go right ahead.

Suppressing a sigh, IF offered her explanation: "Sorry, I'm still thinking about what we were talking about last week." Had it been any human, she most likely would have had to add a reminder of what exactly she meant. Unfortunately, as she was talking to a CPU, her words made Uni's expression sour in moments.

"And why exactly," the Candidate drawled, "is that still on your mind? I told you I am fine with how it is. Should there not be a _little bit_ of trust?" This time IF knew the edge was there on purpose, another challenge toward her. Still, she could only nod and agree; she _did_ trust Uni, after all. What she was actually doing was difficult to put into words, and she kept thinking about how to explain it.

However, her lack of a proper response was taken much differently by someone who could not see into her head. Uni's eyes narrowed and her shout startled IF out of her thoughts: "At least be honest and admit you don't trust me!" While the brunette still stared at her dumbfounded, she began to rant at her: "Who do you think you are? I am trying and trying and trying to be the sister Sis deserves, so you have no right to doubt me!"

In that moment, it clicked. A sudden moment of clarity, paired with the realisation that it had all been so easy and hidden in plain sight. But she was also getting angry herself, the words having had an effect on her.

IF shook off her surprise and the smidgen of fear from being the target of a CPU's anger, quelling all of it like one would quell a matchstick in a glass of water. Her own eyes narrowed and she took a defiant step forward, hissing right back: "Sure thing, I don't doubt you. But you could at least try to be yourself and not her!"

That was really all there was to it. Where Nepgear wanted to be like her big sister as much as possible, Uni took it a step further and wanted to _be_ Noire. IF was as mad at herself for not noticing that sooner as she was at Uni for losing her temper like that.

However, her words gave the Candidate pause; for an instant, she stared at IF in surprise, making her think that maybe her words actually went through.

Then the moment passed and Uni sharply turned around.

"Leave." There was no real heat there this time, but IF had heard her clearly. Even if this was likely the core of the problem, she knew she might have gone too far. Before she could decide what to do however, Uni clarified coldly: "That was an order. _Leave_."

She wanted to stay defiant for one long moment, but ultimately decided that this was not worth defying a CPU's direct order. She quietly turned and stalked out of the room.

**::**

Uni, however, remained. She stood there, facing the cold furnace for long minutes; her mind raced faster than it ever had before, emotion at war with reason. She was angry, more so than she had been in a long time. Yet she also knew how irrational her anger was; a part of her was even touched that IF was so concerned about her, while another was enraged about the very same thing.

And, more importantly, no matter how much she tried to reassure herself that everything was fine, the reasononable parts of her kept on repeating that she had never once heard of IF losing her cool. Something about her words sounded _wrong_, and yet Uni could not shake the feeling she must not dismiss them.

IF was a reasonable person and a concerned friend. One that, Uni realised to her shame, she might just have lost due to her own failure to keep her feelings under control. If something had caught IF's attention like this, perhaps, she reasoned, there was something to it.

And even if she wanted to tell herself it could not be, Uni knew better than to just believe. No matter how slim the chance that IF was right, she had to make sure. As a lastationite CPU, she had to be as close to flawless as possible. She had to reevaluate, think about what IF had said, and determine this matter with certainty.

Only then would she be able to approach IF and tell her the conclusion. Then IF would apologise for doubting her, and she would apologise for losing her temper like this. And hopefully, Uni figured, they could go back to being friends. As much as she tried to make herself believe she did it for Nepgear's sake, she had to admit that IF had grown on her over the last week.

Not trusting her voice at the moment, she wrote out a short message telling Nepgear to meditate without her for the day, and that she had a few things to take care of. Uni knew that she had to go deeper than usually; any possible distraction was not acceptable. She would need a few hours of peace and quiet.

With that done and a response wishing her good luck coming in almost immediately, the young woman began to clean up her workplace diligently. Scraps were collected in a bucket, leftovers went into the respective locker, all tools were placed back where they belonged. Uni took note of the fact IF took the katars with her, but paid no particular mind to it.

Once she was done cleaning up, she reabsorbed the leather apron she kept wearing and made her way back down to her home. Where, much to her surprise, she also found the weapons she spent more than a week crafting. They were right there on Kei's desk, neatly arranged as to not bother the Oracle. The very same Oracle that gave her a searching look once she entered, which told Uni that Kei knew already. Reconstructing the situation, she figured that IF noticed she took the katars after leaving, and decided to bring them up here.

Kei was a perceptive person, so she probably noticed that something was not right.

"Is everything alright, Uni?" She was more subdued than usually; or rather, her usual confidence was missing, as always when she tried to talk about private matters with either her or Noire. The CPU nodded quietly, walking past Kei while mumbling: "...yes, I guess. I just need to think about something for a while. No visitors and no interruptions, if you would."

She could see the Oracle's eyes widening fractionally in the corner of her vision; she was understood and Kei nodded a confirmation immediately. "Of course." Then she went back to her work, leaving Uni alone with her thoughts as she soon climbed stairs and opened the door to her room.

By the time she slumped down on her queen-sized bed, most thoughts of other matters had already fled her mind; she quickly pulled herself further onto the mattress so she could lie comfortably, spread her arms, and looked at the grey ceiling before closing her eyes.

In the blackness of her own mind, Uni began to think.

_So, who am I? And why would anyone complain I am trying too much to be like sis?_

Those were the two questions she had to answer. The latter, however, also implied a third: who was her sister?

Uni decided to do the easier one first, eye turning inward and counting off. _I am Lastation's Black Sister, Uni. Sixteen years old, female, birthday is the seventeenth of December. Hair colour is black, eye colour is red. A hundred and sixty seven centimetres tall, sixty-five kilograms of weight. Currently working for the Guild with a special license._

She paused after having finished on most of her general aspects. What else was there?

_I, I like firearms, from manufacturing them to pulling the trigger. What else... I always work hard, even though sis tells me to take a smaller workload for now; I know she does even more than I, though. I am fine with that much._

A slight rustling filled her ears, Uni realising she was turning her head left and right. _Hm... I am doing my best to follow sis' example of bringing my art to perfection. I study as much and as thoroughly as I can; most of my free time I spend either on my guns, paperwork, or Guildwork. My friends are... well, Nepgear. And maybe IF? I am not sure where we stand after what just happened. I hope she is not too angry._

She felt her thoughts slowing down as she plundered the depths of her mind for other information; part of Uni wondered why there was so little to tell about her, and another part responded that she never did anything of note. All her time was spent on trying to catch up with her sister or Nepgear.

This gave her pause; for an agonising instant, all of her mind was quiet. Then she began to search around once more. Yet, no matter how far she tried to think back, there was nothing noteworthy. Blowing larger monsters like Phoenixes or Dolphins full of holes on a regular basis did not count as special for any CPU except maybe a newborn.

Her fighting with Nepgear came to mind and Uni faintly recalled deciding that the older Candidate was her rival. She had not thought of this in years; it was a silly thing to remember, but brought a smile to Uni's face regardless. They stopped competing more than a decade prior to this moment, when she was four and Nepgear five, though the contests they came up with had been _fun_. She could not remember ever actually saying it, though.

Uni spent a moment making a mental note to actually tell Nepgear; perhaps it would draw that serene smile out of her again.

However, with how deep she was, even the warmth thinking of Nepgear brought was soon extinguished. Or rather, thinking of her at this moment may just have made it happen faster. Uni did not like her first two years, and she actively loathed who she was back then. A bully, nothing else; she made Nepgear cry more often than she dared counting, and it had taken much too long for the other Candidate to have enough and beat the brattiness out of her.

Even now, Uni still stood by the fact she earned every hit she took that day.

Then the same part that doubted herself earlier returned, wondering why this was the only notable thing she could remember from her early childhood. Outside of this, only the evenings she spent playing games with Noire stood out even remotely. She had a caring big sister, no matter how little time they could actually spend together.

She attempted to think of other special things, but drew blanks each and every time. There was _nothing_. She had fun working with her guns, but that hardly counted.

Again, that insistent part of her wondered. Who was she, now?

_I am my sister's... sister._

Uni's eyes slowly opened, wide and brimming with unshed tears; she began to understand it now. This was the first, most spontaneous response she had been able to think of. Nothing about herself, who she was or what she did, but about Noire and how she stood to her.

_I am Uni, the Black Sister, born to... no. No, no, no! This is all wrong! It doesn't even matter!_

Despite her mental breakdown, the Candidate barely moved; she merely stared at the colourless ceiling while tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Her hands clenched into fists and relaxed while her breathing had long since stopped due to a lack of focus.

_I am... me. Yes, but what does that mean? Who am I? Just me? What is me? I... I can be whoever I want to be, right? Sis never said anything about that... no, even if she did, this is more important._

It almost physically hurt Uni to disregard her sister's opinion on principle, but she knew she had to. This was not about anyone but _her_, and no one but Uni herself should be allowed to have a say in this.

Now she only had to figure out who she actually wanted to be.

**. .**

**. .**

Her phone and the sky told her that evening had begun; IF snapped the former shut and took a last glance at the latter before entering the Basilicom again. She had left hours ago, to get some air and calm down. Her anger was quelled quickly, but the bitterness about this entire situation took a while to leave.

Suffice it to say, she was not at all happy with what happened. Neither Uni's behaviour, nor her own, nor Noire's secrecy. She could only blame two out of those three, though; Noire had to have good reasons for what she did. Uni and IF did not have that excuse.

She soon reached the Oracle's office, where Kei was apparently taking a short break. She held a mug of what smelled like coffee, sipping from it slowly; nonetheless, her eyes were on IF the moment she entered. They had talked about what happened earlier and the katars were also still on her desk; she had felt wrong in taking them along after realising she still had them, so she brought them here earlier. Her gaze was on the weapons for a moment, but soon returned to the older woman's knowing look.

Kei put down her mug with a light frown before pointing at the door behind herself. "Uni is in her room. She said not to disturb her, but that was a while ago."

IF thanked her quietly and went on, reasoning that things were still somewhat fine if she was not stopped from entering. Kei gave her a nod that might have been meant to be reassuring, before taking another sip of coffee and going back to her work.

She had already decided to apologise, so she would do it. However, every step closer to her destination made IF more hesitant; she did not want another fight and Uni had apparently ordered not to be bothered. Kei gave her a pass, but that did not have to mean anything.

When she reached the door in question, the brunette stood in front of it for a few seconds. She considered what happened and might happen, ultimately deciding it could hardly get much worse. So she rapped her knuckles against the fine wood twice and waited.

No response.

IF stood for a full ten seconds, waiting for a reaction or anything at all, but got nothing. She suppressed a sigh and turned to leave, assuming that Uni was elsewhere by now; were she in her room, she would have at least told her to go away.

Before she could take more than a single step however, faint tapping could be heard on the other side of the door before it opened. There stood Uni, taking a moment to look IF over; the older girl wanted to say something, but what she saw in turn kept her quiet: the skin around Uni's eyes was faintly red and her silky hair dissheveled.

With how prim and proper she usually appeared, these two things immediately stood out.

Uni opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out; they both blinked in confusion, but then the CPU appeared to understand... and took a deep breath. IF did not even notice she was not breathing before.

After taking another breath to calm herself, Uni weakly motioned toward her room. "Please come in." There was neither heat nor bitterness there, yet IF did not feel happy about that. Defeat was plainly written all over Uni, from her noticeably bowed posture to her weak voice. She complied immediately, entering the Candidate's room; it was spacious, though not as much as Nepgear's room. IF noted the lack of personal effects, but said nothing about it. No wardrobe, but a large bed and several gun cabinets next to a desk.

Uni pulled the chair from under said desk and had IF sit on it, while she herself slumped down onto the edge of her bed. She kept fidgeting in a way reminiscent of Nepgear, not meeting IF's eyes for the time being and twiddling her fingers. IF herself dutifully waited for what Uni had to say. She managed to ignore the tense silence hanging over them, lest it gnaw on her patience.

In the end, the CPU pushed both hands into her lap to keep them still and closed her eyes, then looked up. "I, um, I'm sorry for overreacting back there. I really shouldn't have done that, so... can you forgive me for that?" Soft red met surprised green and IF had to digest this for a moment; Uni's voice sounded much softer this time, the usually present edge practically gone for these instants.

Sighing, IF offered a weak smile. "I was out of line back there, too. So I'll forgive you if you forgive me in turn." The way Uni's lips curled up already told her that the proposal was accepted. They nodded at each other, relieved about having solved this somewhat properly.

"You were right, though," Uni admitted softly. She looked down at her hands again, bowing and straightening her fingers as she spoke. "Something was very wrong with me. Still is, I think. I tried to fix myself as best as I could for the last few hours, but it will take a little longer than that until I am done." Then however, she looked up again; her smile turned more feral and fire sparked in her eyes. "I am Lastation's Black Sister, Uni. I am still looking for a proper goal, but at the moment... I want to surpass Nepgear and become the strongest CPU of our generation."

IF snorted over the cliche'd goal, but nodded along with a smirk of her own. She knew CPUs could change fast and felt joy bubble in her chest. Not only had she managed to keep a new friend, she also helped Uni become more than she used to be.

"It seems," a familiar voice startled them both out of the moment, "That this issue was finally overcome. I am happy to see that." They both turned to find Noire leaning on the doorframe; IF belatedly realised that Uni had not closed the door. Her friend was already blushing furiously from being heard by her big sister.

The older CPU merely smiled at them, though. She remained where she was, arms crossed and with a wider smile than IF had seen on her the entire week. "You came around nicely, Uni. I am proud of you... and do not even think that way," she immediately admonished when Uni's expression fell. "My own apotheosis was brought forth by pushing my pride aside and asking others for help; you have nothing to be ashamed of."

With how she mentioned it, IF realised what was going on. Neptune's words from that day returned to her, and her gaze wandered to a flabbergasted Uni; the Candidate looked at her sister with wide eyes, stuttering: "W-Wait, apotheosis? What, why? H-How?"

"Nepgear didn't tell you?" Noire's question only prompted a shake of Uni's head. "Good, Neptune had her promise not to tell. It is... a rite of passage, of sorts. We decided that you had to figure this out yourselves, just like we had to. As much as it hurt to see you cling to my ideals like you did, I had to make sure you can get over this yourself. You needed a nudge from IF," at which she was given an appreciative nod, "but that was all it took. Everything else was you."

Uni's frown began to cease, though she still appeared lost. "But... I don't get it. Why is _this_ how we get HDD?"

At this, Noire shrugged and pushed herself off the doorframe. "I don't know." She closed the door with her foot and offered them both a helpless smile. "We can guess, but no one knows for sure. The best we have is that this ability of ours is what sets us apart from our people; even as we grow older, we can change once we have reason to believe we need to. Our core personality will never fade and reemerge even if we suppress it, but everything else is malleable. This change you went through," she noted happily, "will be the last one to join your core traits. You will be an adult soon."

As if on cue, Uni gasped and began to glow while grasping her head in pain. IF felt a sense of déjà-vu at the sight, remembering another Candidate doing almost exactly the same thing. Noire gently continued, knowing that Uni was still listening: "We believe it is because as rulers, we need to be able to adapt. This is why children can not use HDD as well: their personalities are still malleable and not yet completely formed."

As the glow intensified and IF considered to take a step back, Uni blinked at her sister in great interest. Noire indulged her and kept talking over the shine. "As far as we got out of Histoire, Blanc, ah, White Heart," she explained to IF, "Blanc is actually the youngest CPU to ever achieve apotheosis, at thirteen. Neptune followed at fourteen, but the average is actually somewhere around our early twenties. You and Nepgear are both quite a bit below average."

Once Noire finished, silence hung over the room; Uni slowly looked over her gleaming hands, awe and curiousity mixing with the lingering pain of her divinity shifting into place. "I feel weird," she mumbled after another moment, which only enhanced IF's sense of déjà-vu. The brunette, realising what kind of situation she was in now, was tempted to throw up her hands about it; she was not _supposed_ to be there for Uni's apotheosis, and yet she was.

At the same time, she felt giddy. True to Neptune's words, Nepgear had never shone with the same beauty after her first transformation. A gentle, pleasant light, one that seeped back into IF's memory every night for months, soothing her into deep and restful slumber.

Never thereafter had she seen anything as beautiful, and she felt herself longing to see it again. A wish that would be fulfilled this day, for which she knew she would be eternally grateful.

Then the light coalesced, growing in intensity until but Uni's silhouette was left; IF stopped blinking, intent on not missing a single moment, even if it took little more than a second once again. Her heart was at ease seeing such beauty for a second time in her life.

Then it was over, as fast as it had begun; the light faded and a familiar presence made her gut clench. Before her sat a CPU, perfectly still. IF had become used to the feeling by now, but her eyes still took in the sight in front of her with awed curiousity; Uni's initial armour was pitch black and shining as it reflected the room's light, covering her from neck to toe just like Nepgear's had.

Her form had grown perhaps a few centimetres in height, but the most prominent changes were in her eyes and hair; the former gleamed in a green like the lush forests of Lastation, the latter was now an ethereal silver reminiscent of Black Heart's own. Uni's hair appeared to have grown in length as well, seeing that it reached as far as before while being held in an extravagant drill-shape.

Uni slowly looked herself over, staring at her reflection in the mirror and gently running a hand through her hair. By the time she hugged herself in delight, IF had regained most of her composure; when the Candidate finally returned her attention to her, they exchanged smiles.

"How do I look?" Her voice had become deeper, not as deep as Purple Heart's, but noticeably so.

The human girl merely raised an eyebrow. "Do you really need me to feed your ego now of all times?" Which, somehow, prompted a chuckle from Noire. The older CPU strode into the room, a loving smile having replaced her usually professional expression, though IF's next comment distracted her from whatever she was originally trying to do: "I guess this is going to be a thing in my life after all."

The Lastationites shared a look while IF merely covered her face; she still wanted to believe she was no one special, but her circumstances rather openly conspired against this worldview. She had seen two Candidates blossom, which put her ahead of even the CPUs themselves; Neptune and Noire had each seen one.

Uni and Noire, however, merely shared a laugh over it. IF did not react aside from sneaking another glance at the newly awakened Candidate, only to see her drawn into a soft embrace and go stock-still. Noire's laughter faded out while she held her sister, one hand slowly running over her head. "You are now an adult, and never have I been more proud of you, Uni."

Sometimes, IF wondered how they could actually _say_ these things with someone else around. Neither of the sisters paid any attention to her at the moment, with Uni enjoying the attention much more openly than IF would have expected. She just closed her eyes and waited; up and leaving was not really possible with them standing between her and the door.

That did not help against the pang of pain and envy, though; she quelled it quickly, but it was still there.

"You... can look now." Noire's reluctance conveyed an amused note and IF opened her eyes again to see both CPU's look back at her. Uni hovered a short distance off the ground, beaming happily. The brunette forgot about her own feelings and got up.

"Anyway, I'm happy for you." Out of impulse, she held out a fist for Uni to bump; an act which she regretted the moment the CPU accomodated her, almost shattering her hand with but a weak touch. IF winced and rubbed the abused bones, simply waving off Uni's shocked apology. Then her arm was grasped by another hand, slender yet strong. Noire allowed no resistance when she pulled IF closer for inspection. A flicker of green light seeped into her skin, soothing the residue pain.

"You have some work to do on fine control, but it was not as bad as it could have been."

Meanwhile, IF took note of something she had somewhat noticed before; be it the situation or the soothing presence of a goddess, she offered a comment of her own: "So, I know some of you grow in HDD. I mean, no way Nep is hiding double-D's in her civilian form... but, uh, did yours shrink?"

Her question gave both CPUs pause; Uni's gaze wandered down to her chest, and she dematerialised the breastplate and most of the armour covering her upper body, carefully running a hand over her own skin with a critical eye. "I think you are right. Not that I mind, less surface area is always a good thing." To which IF nodded, albeit blushing slightly at the sight; once Uni noticed, she shrugged and materialised her gear back in place.

Noire had watched the proceedings with a slow nod. "Do not bring that up around the others," she advised. "Green and White are still arguing about similar matters; you do not want to be drawn into this."

Uni and IF nodded slowly, not really understanding the point of contention. Any potential response was interrupted when Uni slipped further away from the ground, though. The Candidate turned around herself and began to pointlessly wave her arms. "A-Ah, help! How do I get down?!"

She had floated closer to IF, who carefully dodged the arms and pulled her back down without even batting an eye. "There you go. Nepgear had the same problem at times." Thinking of Candidate problems however, she realised there was another one approaching Uni; this did prompt a pitying smile as she kept a light hold on the other girl's shoulder.

Uni did not fail to notice, giving her a curious look. "What is it?"

"...I just remembered what comes with apotheosis." She figured she might as well be honest. Uni cancelled her transformation and returned to normal in the meantime, though she grew pale a moment later. Apparently, she _also_ knew she would not leave her bed for a while.

"Do not worry about being sick," Noire chimed in leniently, "you are an adult now. That much will be nothing to you."

The remark returned Uni's smile, making her nod at herself. "You're right, sis! I can't wait to-" She paused and listened, prompting the other two to strain their ears as well. There were quiet noises coming from below, which had Uni become even more excited. She burst out of the room at speed, throwing open her door quickly enough to almost throw it out of the frame. "Nepgear!"

IF slowly stepped up until she stood next to Noire, both of them apparently having decided not to follow the bundle of joy just yet; they listened to the sound of conversation, followed by squeals. IF shook her head. "Any chance she confesses?" She knew it was a private topic, but Uni's and Nepgear's mutual crush on each other was plain as day; there was no way Noire had not noticed it by this point.

The older CPU merely shook her head, though. Her eyes twinkled with humour as she responded: "I doubt it. Uni comes after me in that regard, and it took me a long while to actually confess. I doubt either of them even noticed it is mutual just yet... and even if they did, they are young and have a lot to consider. Give it time and do not push too much, yes?"

There were quite a few curious statements there, but IF felt that doing more than agreeing with a nod was not okay. Noire returned a more grateful nod before motioning for the door. "I think they had enough time, let us get going."

**. .**

**. .**

True to their expectations, Nepgear was delighted. While Noire watched the children chatter excitedly however, she could not help but smile. She had already decided to take a longer break and cook for them, to celebrate the occasion.

The two Planeptunians would return home the following evening; Uni's sickness was unlikely to act up that quickly, so she was already planning an outing for the four of them.

Looking back, Noire realised that she ought to have spent more time with her sister anyway. Perhaps she could have prevented the need for IF's intervention entirely if she did.

Alas, there was no sense in crying over lost opportunities. She just had to take some more time now.


	29. A Princess Reborn 6

_The easiest way to recognise a planeptunian tourist? Just look for whoever is wearing a choker, chances are good they're from there._

-Unknown

* * *

The ten white pillars of judgement stood, majestically and unbroken since time immemorial. They overcame every trial ever imaginable, housing beings of uncomparable power and their eternal wisdom; none could ever see to match them in their sheer knowledge and power. The red marks below their rounded tops spoke of indiscriminate suffering for anyone who dared defile...

Something slammed into the pillars of judgement and blew them away.

IF blinked, wondering what in the world she had just fantasised together there. She cast a glance at the scoreboard up top, noting that yes, Noire had achieved yet another strike. The numbers were not particularly to her liking, and she knew the CPUs held back already.

Then again, she had hardly ever been bowling before; it was not much of a planeptunian activity and Compa was not the type to enjoy this. IF's hands were slick from oil ever since she first touched one of the balls and the unusual movements were at least decent for a small workout. She still did not get the right angle to hit the pins dead center, but she was getting better.

Not that it stopped her from coming in last; her opponents kept having more crosses than numbers behind their names, each one indicating a strike.

Over her musings, Nepgear downed another nine pins and quickly followed up with a second ball to get the last. She also smiled over her friend's faintly unhappy expression.

IF _knew_ they were holding back. They probably had been planning to do so since the start. When their sole human companion turned out to be horrible at bowling however, their performance had dropped a little more. They tried their hardest to give her a chance to catch up without being obvious about it. IF learned, but she was aware she would not be able to close the gap before their time was used up.

It was cute in one way, but a little depressing in another. Not that IF minded too much; she spent all her time on getting good at fighting, so it made sense to be bad at this. Her fitness and combat practice did help get used to bowling in some ways, but she had never been a particularly fast learner.

Instead of contemplating herself any further however, IF took her turn and sent the ball rolling; eight pins dropped, with the outermost two still standing. She clicked her tongue and searched for another ball of her preferred weight, picking it off the stand in the same motion as she slipped her fingers into the holes. She took a step back, dashed forward, let go... and missed when the ball went off-course.

The young woman sighed and went back to her seat while Uni stood to take her turn. She quietly observed both Black siblings as she waited, not even paying much attention to the pins. Even though Uni remarked about never having beaten her older sister at this before, she was easily in second place.

Noire, in turn, had brought them here in the first place. She said it was to celebrate Uni's apotheosis and to see Nepgear and IF off properly, as they were leaving in the evening; none of them knew whether that was really all there was to it, but nobody questioned the elder CPU. Uni was happy to spend time with her sister and friends, Nepgear was happy to spend time with Uni, and IF was happy she was out of dangerous waters with the Lastationites.

The memory of light returned gently, reminding IF that there was more she was happy about; she got to see it a second time, which was more than anyone could ever ask for.

Nepgear quietly watched her fellow Candidate, unaware of the thoughts going through their human companion's mind. IF in turn was eyeing the bowling hall again; it was quite large, with no less than twenty tracks neatly arranged next to each other, a second hall connected to it, and a medium-sized restaurant built into the center. The walls were kept in a soothing navy blue, with ocean motifs all around. There were even lightshows in the evening, but Nepgear and her had to leave for Planeptune before that time.

Not to mention that Uni's transformation sickness might start to act up before then. They were making the best of the time they had until it began.

And so the matches continued, bringing IF in dead last every time except the last. Which was only because they formed teams there, her being paired with Noire and playing decently enough not to ruin the CPU's victory. Then their two hours were up and the four left their track; with regard to IF, Noire maneuvered them toward the restaurant for some burgers and fries. They could have ordered while playing, but doing so did not feel right.

Not to mention that IF had to focus on the game anyway. Now that they were done, the brunette curiously watched the Candidates tear into their food. Most of Uni's attempted manners and grace were gone, the raven-haired girl eating away without a care for appearing refined. Instead of being confused, annoyed, or unhappy however, Noire wore a visible smile over her sister's changed mannerisms.

That, IF decided, was weird. Granted, Uni was not in a professional setting and could thus allow herself to leave her manners behind for the moment; it still felt alienating to see someone happy that their sibling just stuffed her face.

Then again, CPUs did not even need to eat in the first place, they just did it for the novelty.

IF shimmied around on her bench until she sat a little more straight, taking another bite out of her meal while eyeing the Candidates; she did not feel like interrupting them, though. While they were busy, her mind returned to a curious matter of her own and she cast a glance toward Noire. "Um, mind if I ask you something?"

She kept her voice low and neither Uni nor Nepgear appeared to listen, though they might be doing it anyway. Noire's eyebrow rose almost imperceptibly before being lowered again, but the elder CPU motioned for her to go on immediately as she finished chewing. IF nodded in turn and asked, though somewhat slowly as she was still trying to array a useful string of words. "So, you said earlier that you, uh, grew up by asking others for help?" Noire nodded slowly. "So, I was wondering... what about the others?"

Now the Candidates _did_ react noticeably; they did not interrupt their own quiet conversation, but IF saw Nepgear's head turning. She also saw the curious glimmer in her eyes, rolling her own over the realisation that she had been silly to assume they were _not_ listening.

However, Noire merely leaned back in contemplation. Her red eyes remained on IF, who felt a little like being dissected for a moment. Then the ruler of Lastation shrugged. "Vert and Blanc you will learn about in time. You never met them, so I do not know if they are okay with you knowing." IF blinked at that, accepting the dismissal on White Heart and Green Heart with a nod. "As for Neptune... well, she grew up the day she realised she could not laze around all day. From what I heard, she used to just lie around and do nothing productive at all as a child."

IF's first thought was that sounded silly. Her second was that apotheosis could be triggered in weird ways.

Her third thought went on the line of this being utterly fitting for Neptune.

Going by their amused expressions, Nepgear and Uni thought similarly. IF mulled it over for a moment, but found nothing wrong with the idea. "Makes sense. I mean, I know Nep does her work, but she is so happy-go-lucky you wouldn't expect it just from watching her while out and about." To which Noire offered a sage nod.

Silence descended once again after that, though Uni soon broke it with a curious look toward IF. "Did you really never go bowling with your friends before?"

The brunette considered the question for a moment, trying to think back. The other girls had dragged her to various places over the years, and she did not outright say she never went bowling before. "I _think_ I went once or twice with Compa and Nepgear."

However, Uni shook her head for some reason. "No, I meant with your other friends." There was honest curiousity there, which alienated IF all the more while Nepgear started to fidget.

"What... other friends?" She asked slowly, carefully, wondering why Uni assumed that she would have more than Compa and Nepgear. Her question appeared to surprise _both_ Lastationite CPUs, seeing how they blinked at her.

Noire was the one to answer her, though Uni flushed over her blunder at the same time. "No one ever mentioned anything about your social activities. You appear like someone easy to talk to, so we both assumed you would know more people than you apparently do."

The admission made IF shrug; she never really cared much about the matter, though it was faintly amusing that these two of all people thought of her as someone easy to talk to. "Not really," she started thoughtfully, "my schoolmates were all weirded out by me or didn't get along with me, or something like that. The first time anyone actually talked to me was Compa when we started High School."

"What about the other children at your place?" Nepgear chimed in curiously. She had never asked before, though she probably had her own thoughts about the matter for a while.

IF shrugged in response. "Same thing. All the younger children see me as more of a surrogate big sister, so they don't count, either." For some reason, the other women at the table appeared increasingly uncomfortable with the topic. Even Noire, who had not shown any hints of being fazed by anything before. Amusedly, IF changed the subject a little. "Honestly, from the look of it, I have the feeling only oddballs gravitate to me for some reason."

As she gave the people surrounding her a demonstrative look, a round of smirks broke out. Uni appeared willing to argue for a moment, but forewent it in favour of a sage nod reminiscent of her sister. "And don't you forget it!"

IF snorted over that while Noire and Nepgear smiled. The brunette considered keeping up this line of conversation, but soon found something more interesting to talk about. Right in front of her, at that.

"By the way... looking at you, one could think you are a moment away from feeding each other."

The Candidates blinked at her and turned to look; only then did they realise that they sat basically shoulder to shoulder, having inched closer to each other without even noticing. Much to IF's amusement, both of them immediately shimmied away from the other and flushed a deep scarlet.

The human girl wondered once again how two CPUs could not see how obviously into each other they were. She did remember that she promised to Noire she would not push too much, though; that was a promise she intended to keep.

Considering the older deity's amused expression though, a little teasing was fine.

**. .**

**. .**

Unfortunately, the time of relaxation soon found an end. Noire had already excused herself and went back to work, so it was only Uni seeing IF and Nepgear off.

Red eyes flicked back and forth from human to CPU, a restless mind making sure both of them accounted for all of their things. Uni could not stop herself from leaving her eyes on Nepgear a little longer than IF each time. It was not intentional, but she knew at least one of the other two noticed.

Ever since that comment IF made earlier, she had been thinking, considering, and attempting to push past her own mind. Improper, a part of her called it. Too outgoing, another chimed in.

She needed time to get over this and make up her mind properly. Uni's attention was only half there when she fist-bumped IF as they said their goodbyes, offering her a half-pitying smile when she began to mutter about the jetlag and trying to sleep on the train.

There were many other people on the platform, seeing that it was a bit after four in the afternoon. Her friends would reach Nicos around noon of planeptunian time.

Friends. Now she had two of them, and so many other things to consider alongside this change. However, the reason she regarded the other people was entirely different.

"I'll see you soon, Uni," Nepgear's gentle words brought her back from her ruminations. She was still the tiniest bit taller than Uni herself and now it was forever, as neither of them would ever change in appearance again; yet Nepgear fidgeted a little, obviously also still remembering the barb IF threw at them earlier. "I will message you once we get back, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Uni offered her a smile and, following an impulse, stepped forward to hug her tightly. Nepgear stiffened in surprise, but quickly relaxed into the embrace as the CN1368 rolled into the station.

Her mind was still in turmoil, but a plan began to form in her mind. Only IF was close enough to possibly notice anything that was not hidden by their hair, so she took her chance and acted. However, even with her mind pushing past all the embarassment and other internal barriers it threw at itself, she only managed to brush her lips over Nepgear's soft cheek for a moment.

With how she stilled, Nepgear had felt it well enough; Uni's hold on her increased in strength for a moment, unwilling to let go at all. "I, I need to do a lot of thinking still, so... please wait for me until I'm ready to say it properly?" Her words were barely more than a whisper, but she was right next to Nepgear's ear. There was no chance for her not to have heard. The faint shiver running through her only confirmed that.

Uni knew she liked Nepgear more than just a friend. Nepgear knew it as well. In turn, Nepgear knew she liked Uni the same way, and Uni knew this just as well. They had known for years.

Yet, one had been too busy trying to be someone she was not to put the proper thought into this, and the other was too timid to try pulling her out of it and speak up first. Even now, Uni still had to ask Nepgear to wait for her; she knew she wanted to be the one who said it first.

And knowing Nepgear...

"Sure."

...she would accept her selfishness with but a tight squeeze of her own.

Uni had no heart, at least not biologically. She had a Share Core that fulfilled a similar function, but this was definitely not the source of pleasant tightness in her chest at that moment. "Thank you," she whispered before letting go. A glance to the side told her that IF had been watching the approaching train, completely oblivious to their quiet conversation. She knew her face was scarlet, as was Nepgear's, but they both brought their skin under control by the time the arriving travelers had filed out.

A soft smile worked its way on Uni's face, remaining there as she waved her friends goodbye and watched the train roll out soon after. She remained on the platform until it was out of sight, like a few others who saw friends or family off.

Then she turned and left the station, smile still in place. In just two weeks, everything had turned around for the better. Things were looking more positive than they had in a long time.

In the privacy of her own mind, Uni cheered.

**. .**

**. .**

"People of Planeptune," the ruler's voice carried over the gathered people. "Today is a most wonderful day, doubtlessly for you and me alike. For today is the eighteenth anniversary of my cherished sister's birth." It was clearly audible to those present as well as everyone watching the proceedings on live television, the joy these words brought to Purple Heart.

It was but a few days after their departure from Lastation, the sixth of October. Birthday of Purple Sister. Purple Heart stood in front of the vast hall, smiling upon those of hers that had arrived in person. Camera-drones hovered all around her, catching the Lady from every perspective; this speech was transmitted to the entirety of the nation

"However," she continued gently, "today will not just be a day of celebration for the previous reasons. As the years passed on and my Purple Sister grew, many have been wondering when she will be ready to appear in public for the first time."

By herself, IF could not help but smile over the proceedings. Her team was right next to her, hanging on the CPU's lips while people began to whisper excitedly at the implications of what was said.

Alexis was the first to join, shaking her head in disappointment. "For real? Goodness gracious, why can't Nepgear be here?" The question almost made IF snort in mirth, but she managed to suppress it. Their lilac-haired friend had brought them tickets for the first row that IF knew she just reserved earlier instead of buying them. Not that it mattered much; only the first six rows for the CPUs' public events were available in form of tickets, the rest was first come first served.

It made sense, seeing that the people wanted to see their Lady in person; arguably, those most willing to arrive early should be the ones to be allowed in.

Meanwhile, IF shrugged in response to Alexis' question; André gave her a suspicious glance, but did not say anything. Gabriel was busy watching Purple Heart in awe, his ears slightly red; the latter spoke more of the pull deities could have than of his orientation, seeing that previous conversations had made it rather clear he liked men.

Granted, many more than just Gabriel were positively entranced by the goddess on stage; even IF had trouble not to stare at times, though she managed to keep her mind on other things. Then again, she reasoned, Neptune might have been going for this reaction when she chose to wear an eloquent black dress with purple trims.

"I, too, was wondering," Purple Heart finally continued with a warm smile; her words made the crowd shut up in moments, easily reaching even the furthest corner of the hall without any need to shout or use a microphone. Part of it was the clever architecture leading sound, part of it IF knew to be some kind of magical effect. "But there is no more need to ask without receiving a response."

And then they all felt it from behind them, a _second_ aura. Weaker than the Lady's, but unmistakably divine. Heads turned and people gasped at the sight; which included her own companions when they beheld Purple Sister for the first time, pink hair cascading down her back as she walked down the central aisle with measured steps. The hem of a white dress gently rustled around her calves, it having blue trims that made the getup appear even more reminiscent of her older sister's. In fact, the two dresses were basically identical if not for the difference in colour and proportions.

"As during this year," Purple Heart noted, this being the first time since her appearance that not all eyes were on her, "my beloved sister has entered adulthood and will officially serve as Planeptune's CPU Candidate from now on." IF could not help but smile over her friends' dumbfounded expressions. Nepgear continued her stride toward the room's front while everyone else applauded. With all attention on the now revealed Candidate, nobody noticed the few who failed to join in, their eyes wide as saucers.

"Unbelievable," André muttered to himself while Gabriel's "Seriously?" was almost inaudible. Alexis merely stared, unable or unwilling to form any words.

IF slowly joined the roaring applause and cheering, though she held back on it; not that it stopped the others from giving her looks, which she averted her gaze from. It was rather clear she had known, and they knew as well.

If only she had Compa around, but her friend was down with a severe cold and fever.

Thankfully, Nepgear soon took the attention from her as she strode past them. A quick glance was sent their way, which found IF smiling at her friend. The young CPU did not react to it, though her eyes quickly returned to the stage she stood in front of. Then she took off the ground, hovering upward fluidly. One and a half metres it was to reach the higher ground; Nepgear landed softly, her continuous practice paying off in this very moment.

She exchanged a nod with her smiling sister and turned around to overlook her people, a gaze filled with confidence and love. "There is still much to learn and a lot to do, but I am confident I can live up to everyones' expectations," she began with a wide motion of her hands. "Now that I can finally lend my power to my nation, I promise I will do as much as I can to protect our people from the monsters that plague us so."

She paused for a moment, eyes wandering over the crowd. Her gaze flicked to some of the arrayed cameras as she folded her hands, arms still straight. "And, as this is my first chance to do so, I want to thank you, all of you. From the Green Hill up north to the Droidan Sea in the south, I am so very grateful to every one of you." She had begun to outright beam at the people while IF raised an eyebrow. With Nepgear's next words, she understood: "Were it not for your faith in my sister, I would not be here today. Thank you."

Silence reigned for a long moment as the people comprehended Purple Sister's words. Then the applause began anew, even louder than before. IF joined without hesitation and so did the rest of their team.

She was glad how well this went for her friend.


	30. Mortal Interlude - Strongest of Mages

_Even after we learned so much about magic, there are still mysteries left to us. We unravelled the inner workings and appliances of the power, understood its meaning... but I doubt we will ever learn what brought humankind to evolve that way, or whether we have really reached the end of our research. Thus, we have to carry on; there is always another surprise waiting, another revelation to find._

-Nishizawa Yuichi

* * *

"I don't remember much about them anymore", a calm voice echoed through the room while bright light engulfed it; the speaker was distinctively female, if very young. Then a girl appeared on screen, no older than six and clad in a cute green children's coat. She was walking next to two larger figures who held her hands as they went; her parents. Faces hidden above where the screen ended, their boots crunched through the snow and a few strands of brown hair fell out of the girl's hood.

"But it was a terrible sight." The voice spoke up again, only for the scene to change on the last syllable; the very same girl sat on the ground, wide eyed, staring directly at the camera. The snow in front of her feet slowly turned crimson and an Ancient Dragon howled beyond the screen.

**. .**

**. .**

"That was a terrible movie."

The little girl saying this looked awfully like the child they had shown on-screen over the past two hours; she held tightly onto a large, yellowish ball as well as she could. Flanked by her friends, the child walked out of the movie theatre. "I mean, the writers had dozens of interviews with me and still messed up on a scale that I'm thinking about suing them."

The two women with her made the whole group appear decidely distinct. The blunette wore a white coat with black lines criss-crossing over it and a navy blue shirt-skirt combo beneath; she was busy rolling her eyes at the commentary and smoothed out her coat. Meanwhile, the other one kept quiet over it in a more solemn way; her curvy form was packed into a red sweater and blue jeans, orange hair bound into a tight bun for the day.

This group of three moved toward the coat check without any haste; it was their day off, so they had enough time at hand. On top of that, experience showed that people tended to jump out of the way and let them go ahead if they hurried. And they tended to panic because they thought something happened.

"How awfully cold of you, Broccoli," the blunette finally noted with a glance at the little girl, "I doubt anyone else could be like that after watching a movie about themselves. I'm even more surprised you weren't triggered; some of that looked pretty traumatic."

The little brunette only tilted her head before smiling up at her friend. "Silly MAGES., I'm not traumatised. Besides, even if I was, the movie was just so bad I doubt it would trigger anyone. Just a great many scenic shots, no action visible on screen, layered with quotes from me... and they even took none of the good ones. They really wanted that R12-rating."

A few people still let them pass with respectful nods and bows during their conversation. Broccoli rolled her eyes, but did not say anything about it; she just accepted that they reached their destination faster than they usually would. Once there, they had the attendant give them their coats; the man saw them off with a friendly smile and a bow.

While brunette and blunette were busy putting on their outside clothing however, the last member of their group sighed and wiped her slightly reddened face with a handkerchief again. "Even if you say all that, it was still very touching."

"Well, at least one of us has a decent amount of empathy." MAGES. offered a good-natured smirk with her comment, but Broccoli only rolled her eyes and snapped the last clasp of her green coat shut.

Then she mounted the ball. A moment passed before its yellowish surface contorted, an eye bubbling up from the inside; another one followed the first, both forming a pair. Another hole below them opened with a smacking sound, revealing two rows of even teeth. The newformed mouth smiled at its surroundings.

Broccoli bounced up and down on her friend a few times, Gema's smile never ceasing as she did. "Nah. They left out a lot I mentioned in passing." Riding it was a fun thing for her to do, especially because it was soft and warm.

Meanwhile, people were regarding them with reverence as usual. Children pointed and squealed in delight when she had Gema smile their way despite of how creepy it looked. She did this mostly to pass the time, though; her friends took a little longer to get ready. No one spoke as the adults finished buttoning up their coats, not wanting to have that kind of discussion within a crowd.

Attendants bowed to them as they walked out into Lowee's cold air. It was a pleasant afternoon, all things considered; the temperature had not fallen far below the freezing point and only few people were around. Gema did not mind flopping in the freshly fallen snow with every bounce, having always been uncaring for such slight changes in temperature.

With their breath forming clouds in front of their faces, Broccoli enjoyed herself by inhaling deeply and covering her busty companion in mist for a moment.

That did nothing to dismiss her thoughtful expression, though; she spoke up while they slowly left the larger building's shadow, returning to the capital's wider main streets: "You said they left things out from the interviews... what exactly were those?"

The little brunette had already opened her mouth, but MAGES. motioned for her to wait. The older mage had this slightly amused smile plastered on her face again. "Considering that you, in difference to us, are a good person, Marvy... I believe this ought to stay unmentioned."

While MarvelousAQL began to pout playfully over the rebuke, Broccoli shook her head with a smile. Her fellow mage was probably right; their friend might not take well to hearing about the bullying she went through. Neither would the audience of this movie, which was probably why the directors left it out. Furthermore, this kind of topic would have led to a lot of controversy, especially with how carefully the government tried to discourage bullying.

"I guess you're right. Marvy is a nice girl."

Still...

**.**

**. .**

_In her hands rested a silvery orb of metal, clear and yet dull. A family heirloom she inherited two years earlier, after... it happened._

_Her childish face might be reflected by it, were it not so small; small enough to be hidden completely if she formed a fist around it. Not that her grandmother would mind her having it; there was no need to hide it, unlike the bruises. At least what she could not heal with her magic, that was._

_The old woman went to the convenience store a little earlier, so Akari had the place for herself right now; all that was left at home was an eight-year-old and the voices she could still hear, endlessly repeating those words._

"Go away, Minegishi!"

"You're creepy!"

"We don't want to play with you!"

_It just did not stop, no matter how hard she tried to tune them out. Not that she told her grandmother; the old lady had already been kind enough to take her in. Bothering her with this as well did not sit right with Akari._

_Still, her thoughts on the matter did not change._

Is... Is it really wrong to want friends?

_She had been thinking about this for a while; no one wanted to play with her, even when she had done nothing to them. No one liked her, either. But why should it be wrong to want to be liked? She wanted to have friends, was that so bad?_

_She refused to believe it was wrong to want friends. If no one wanted to be her friend, she just had to make her own. At eight years of age, Akari had already gone through a lot of her magical training. She was always at the top of her class, too._

_In the end, there was only one thing she could do. One thing she could try. _

_Deep within this small body, power began to surge and gently wash through her being, guided by a mind already used to this practice. Magic flowed through her fingertips and into the orb; she found it react to her magic before and her mother always said it was a good-luck charm. So if she just wished for it..._

I want a friend. I want someone to stay with me no matter what!

_It did not take long for the orb to begin shining in bright, silvery light. It took in all the magic she poured out and even began to buzz gently. The sound soothed her bitter heart._

_But then Akari felt something weird, as if the metal latched onto her fingers. And her magic started moving faster! She knew she kept it under control, it should not do that. But the drain became ever faster; power cascaded out from her, filling the endless void that she realised she was holding. It sucked out more and more... and more... just what had she done?_

_The girl wanted to screech and throw the thing away, but her hands refused to move. Her mouth refused to open, so hard was she biting down on her own teeth. It hurt, it hurt so much._

_**It hurt so very much!**_

_A pained whimper was all Akari could let out while her body grew ever more numb, feeling as if it was on fire at the same time. Every fiber of her being burned and _ohgodithurt_!_

_When she finally managed to open her mouth and scream out her agony, the orb in her hands shone brighter than it did before. But even now, she did not faint; something did not let her._

_Like this, Akari could only watch as the metal in her hands changed colour from silver to a brownish orange. The sphere quickly grew bigger and pushed her hands aside, its bubbling mass growing and growing even after it fell from her numb fingers. Whatever it was, it met the ground with a wet noise. The burning slowly subsided. _

_Akari sat there with tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt empty... and her everything hurt, stinging as if she was pierced with needles everywhere. Before her was the ball-sized thing that had grown from the metal, completely still._

_Then a pair of wide eyes began to form on its surface, directed at Akari; it was followed by a wide, toothless mouth smiling happily. The two of them stared at each other for a long, disbelieving moment. _

_Then the creature expressed a wide tongue and ran it over Akari's whole face, wiping away the tears and sweat but covering her skin in saliva instead._

_With the exhaustion catching up at last, she fainted on the spot._

**. .**

**.**

"They really messed up with Gema, though." That was what she noted while they watched a carriage stop in front of them; the polar bears pulling it sat down once they were no longer made to walk, comfortably looking around. In fact, the left animal turned its head to look at the three of them curiously.

Those bears were domesticated; Lowee did not waste any natural resources, not even the local wildlife. Bears were rather common in the frozen lands, having lived alongside humans since ages long past. Those two species were the apex predators out in the cold north, not counting CPUs and Monsters.

Broccoli slid down from Gema and climbed into the carriage after her friends; she used the chance to poke MAGES. calf, giggling over the startled eep from her friend. Then the blunette huffed and did not respond to further teasing. MarvelousAQL just smiled leniently; looking like a kid had its perks without doubt.

"You, uh, you did not find him in the wilderness, then? I never really thought to ask, now that I think about it. And you probably won't tell me anyway, right?"

Broccoli did not respond at once; first the girl caught her friend when he bounced upward and into the carriage, then she sat down on the cushioned seat opposite to her fellow Makers, Gema right next to her.

The coachman walked around to close the door with a friendly smile and they gave them their respective destinations, then Broccoli continued: "Something something secret, sorry. I can't tell anyone without the appropriate clearance. Besides, I actually just meant that the movie portrayed it particularly bad."

Their transport started to move with a sudden start while they all took off their coats; these carriages had good air conditioning, so they could relax for a while. This trip would take some time, considering that they lived a few kilometres away and carriages were not made for speed.

"I concur with you, Broccoli." MAGES. had by now crossed her legs and turned her gaze out of the window. "It was a bad choice, especially because it made the reason for your suspended aging become ludicrous. Even I could have produced a better excuse than that; as if Lowee's top scientists would mess up the safety protocols on magical research like that."

Then however, the blunette smiled mischievously with a glance at their nicer friend. "Although no one would have believed the true reason to begin with; I am aware and still have trouble believing it, all things considered. Born from a piece of Sharicite, and a family heirloom on top of that."

MAGES. chuckled over the other woman's surprised look while Broccoli just rolled her eyes; it was probably fine to disregard their confidentiality with another Maker, but her friend could at least have left the revelation to her. "Did you really expect me not to hold permission to participate in such research, Marvy? Not that we can do much, but I have been at work on this for a while now."

The other Maker quickly shook her head. "No, I, I guess it makes sense. Soooo... made from Sharicite? I mean-"

Broccoli interrupted her at once, not willing to have this discussion again: "No, I don't know why this happened. I just know that it did." She smiled to take the sting out of her words, but this was about everything she was willing to do. Her hand came to rest on top of Gema and she gently patted him.

She had the friends she longed for, that she was sure of; MAGES. and MarvelousAQL were good matches for her. Nonetheless, Gema would always be special. A being born by her own wishes and magic, imbued into the divine metal. He was also a testament of her power as a mage. White Heart herself told her that any lesser than her would have died from the drain while creating Gema.

Marvelous just sighed and took a closer look at the blob, carefully holding onto the coat she draped over her legs. "I still can't believe that you're so cold about your own past, Broccoli. I mean, I definitely can't compare my own..." The woman looked a little down from that, her gaze lingering on the target of her curiousity. "I'm just your average girl with a lot of talent, after all."

"The world isn't fair, Marvy. Even if the CPUs try to make it so," the brunette responded with a dismissive wave. She did not really bother with the past, much preferring to live in the present; her friend had no reason to blame herself for not being struck with tragedy in her youth. Even though most Makers tended to come from unusual backgrounds, some were simply normal.

MAGES. quickly used the lull in their conversation to add something of her own: "Gema is crying."

This prompted the little girl to turn her head immediately; just as she was told, fat, round tears rolled down from his eyes even though he continued to smile happily. Broccoli was quick to lean over and pet his topside, purring soothingly and feeling for her handkerchief with the other hand. "Shh, it's fine, Gema. I know the movie was bad, but everything else is still alright."

That happened on occasion, though Broccoli never really found out what triggered a bout of sadness from him like this; she just comforted Gema in these cases until it went away, just like Gema comforted her when she felt down. Not that it happened often.

The age-locked girl did not notice MarvelousAQL and MAGES. exchanging glances over this. They had no need to speak about it, but both of them could guess the actual reason Gema cried; it was no secret that Broccoli supplied her partner with her own magic to sustain it; assuming there was _more_ than just magic being transferred was not too far-fetched.

However, the more athletic woman just shrugged with a lenient smile while the mage rolled her eyes and nodded. They would not tell their friend what they suspected was going on; she seemed content as it was, so why try to change things?

Broccoli was the first to hop out of the carriage a few minutes later; Gema calmed down by now and happily flopped after her. "Just give me a call when you're home, I give you the money tomorrow."

"Sure, sure. Have a nice day, companion."

"See you, Broccoli!"

The others waved her goodbye and she stepped back to let the carriage pass off, nodding at the coachman as he went past. They established that whoever was last to leave a carriage paid for the ride, then they split the price in three later. It worked out well enough.

Once the vehicle was out of sight, the bears tirelessly crunching through snow and tapping over stone, Broccoli turned around. She was dropped off right in front of her home, a snuggly bungalow on the hills south of Lowee Castle. The large structure overshadowed everything in the north, especially because it was built on the main hill overlooking the whole area; this part of the city was a little less populated, mostly because the terrain did not allow to build as close together as usual.

A few of the precious loweean flowers bloomed in her yard, stubbornly sticking out of the freshly fallen snow that threatened to cover them. The brunette smiled over the sight, a fitting metaphor for the steadfastness of Lowee's people, before starting to walk. This was her place, complete with everything inside and the ground it was built on.

She was twenty-five now and had been a Maker for two years already; being appointed at twenty-three was quite below the average, which lay at her current age. Not that anyone would think she was that old; people still saw her as a little girl, the appearance far too convincing.

Serving in the most prestigious group known to Gamindustri aside from its deities had its perks too, such as a very high income overall. It took less than two years to accumulate enough money to buy a patch of land in the capital of all places, including the building on it. Without bankrupting herself, that was.

On the other hand, she was also recompensed quite nicely for allowing experiments on herself and Gema; everyone was curious about what went on in that regard, so she accepted participating in what White Heart allowed the scientists to do. In fact, even the Tome came from Planeptune for those experiments.

Broccoli smiled over these memories while opening the door and letting herself in; she had been excited to meet the chronicler of Gamindustri and was still very fond of Histoire. They got along quite well.

A moment of fiddling with the buttons later, the girl slipped out of her coat and hung it onto the rack in the hallway, then she skipped deeper inside. Gema rolled along, following her into the kitchen where she filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove; some green tea was just the right thing to spend her day off with, she just had to get herself some sweets to make everything perfect.

Especially after this awful movie.

She really ought not to think about it anymore.

With the water heating up, the brunette had her magic extend from an index finger, forming a rope-like appendage that pulled open another cupboard under her will; she then sent the large package of bear food airborne with a few additional shifts. Doing things with magic was fun, especially if one had enough self-control to feel through it as if it was an extension of the limb it came from. A little bit like Awakening, even though that was far more tiring and blunt, much less refined.

The package hovered around the room and then tilted, directed by Broccoli's magic. A sizable portion rolled out into the bowl she put on the ground, filling it up to the brim; Gema already sat there, waiting patiently until she was done before he started licking up the food and gulping it down. His body bubbled and contorted a bit, but that was normal; she petted Gema once more, then went to get herself some sweets.

When Broccoli returned, the bowl was empty and clean and Gema smiled up at her; he looked as goofy as always. On a whim, the girl threw out a chocolate chip cookie to her friend; Gema contracted toward the ground and jumped up, half a metre into the air, to catch the dessert. Then he flopped back to the ground with a wet noise, completely unharmed just as usual.

"Let's go and watch some anime," she told her friend while taking the steaming kettle from the stove. Tea leaves were dropped inside and it was put on a tray alongside her sweets, then Broccoli got going with Gema in tow. "There is a rerun of Digital Creatures coming up; the first season."

All in all, this might still become a good day for her.


	31. Growing Up 1

_At this point, I learned that any chance meeting is not by chance if Neptune is even remotely involved._

-Isabelle "IF" Fontaine, 19 years old

* * *

""""Happy Birthday!"""", numerous voices called out as an almost literal wall of confetti rained down on her.

IF was... conflicted about how to feel. She already expected something to happen, even had a few suspicions, but this was silly. She had just returned from her morning run, sweaty and with a satisfying tingle through all of her muscles, thinking about the next few days, when veritable truckloads of people jumped out of every corner.

In the end, all she could do was stand there dumbfounded and watch the younger children beam at her, smiling as if they were just given a year's worth of candy. Compa was around as well, a little further back and also sprinkled with confetti; right next to her stood Neptune and Nepgear. The former appeared rather pleased for some reason, the latter was busy protecting a large cake from the children... and Neptune.

Basically all of the staffmembers were there, too. They were scattered throughout the large room, with Mari helping Nepgear protect the cake. Even Gabriel and Alexis were around

"Um, I think we broke her?"

Nepgear's words slowly brought IF back to her senses, making her rub her temples in a vain attempt to rationalise this situation. She also had to fight down a blush because this was quite frankly embarassing. Not that anyone cared, seeing that Neptune threw _more_ confetti; as if on cue, all the children began to mob her with cheers, somehow getting the slightest bit of order into their arguments of who got to hug her first.

Unfortunately for IF, for every boy or girl that went into her arms, two more took their place. It was an opponent she stood powerless against, social interactions. They did not let her take any space, apparently not caring at all that the person they were hugging had just run several kilometres and was smelling accordingly.

Then however, a loud clap gave the little ones pause and made them disperse a little as Mari wandered closer. The by now middle-aged woman held a sympathetic smile and motioned for the bathrooms. "Now, children. Be dears and let her wash up first." Then her eyes turned to IF herself. "We start once you're ready."

IF's relief was almost palpable, though even if it was, it would have been drowned out by the renewed cheering. The young woman just shook her head, noting how everyone else was more excited about this than she was, and made her way out of the room she had been lured into. Yet she could not help but feel warm about seeing so many people being there just for her.

**::**

Meanwhile, close to the birthday cake, Nepgear and Compa were bumping fists about a surprise well done. Both of them wore bright smiles, though neither was at ease; there were too many hungry stares directed at their payload for them to be.

"It did work out really well," Compa noted as she watched IF leave the room. "I mean, she probably knew something was up anyway, but she looked really surprised there."

"Yep." Nepgear gently redirected her rogue sister trying to crawl under the table, not even taking her eyes off of Compa as she did. "It was a chore to get this set up, but it was definitely worth going the extra mile." The fact IF took hours of exercise every day helped in contacting everyone without her noticing.

"I agree," Alexis entered their conversation with a smile, the darker skinned woman giving them both a thumbs up as she came to stand next to them. "Nice to see you again, uh... sorry, it's been a while. What was your name?"

"It's Compa," the younger woman told her with a smile, to which the older one nodded sagely.

"Ah, right. I'm Alexis." They shook hands, the younger one delighted over meeting someone new, the older one amused by the reaction. Then Alexis threw Nepgear a wink. "Looking good in glasses there."

The purplette blushed a little and fiddled with the frame of said glasses, still not entirely comfortable with the teasing compliments. They had started the moment she began to wear them right after her introduction, seeing how her HDD was so similar to her civilian form that she needed something to prevent people from recognising her. A small form of comeuppance for not telling the rest of their team.

By herself, Nepgear was only glad that those glasses actually helped disguise her, and that she got herself a cute design.

Then again, while the glasses could protect her from some recognition, they did not prevent the flood of requests to star in commercials, from breakfast cereal to undergarments; granted, every CPU got those once in a while and on a constant basis, but it was tiresome nonetheless.

"It is quite a cute pair," a new voice joined them; turning, the three women found Mari approaching their group. The older woman offered Nepgear a smile, which made her nod reluctantly while Alexis chuckled. Then however, Mari's gaze turned into concern. "Did your eyes get worse recently?"

Before Nepgear could respond however, Alexis poked her with an elbow and a mean smirk. "Guess that happens when you keep watching porn before bed." She had her voice lowered so the children could not overhear, but the adults all did; Mari chuckled while Compa blushed over the topic.

Nepgear, however, turned an incomprehending look at Alexis. "I, uh, don't. As you should know, because you kept asking until we told you two months ago. Get yourself a girlfriend, that is both better for you and won't give you weird expectations for actual sex." The nonchalance with which she returned this made Compa flush a deeper shade of red and wiped the grin off of Alexis' face. Mari, who had been married for a few years by this point, grimaced in sympathy.

"You know, it's not that easy," Alexis began, but did not continue when Nepgear just raised an eyebrow at her.

"There are quite a few reputable escorts as well," she offered, to which Mari broke into chuckles again while Compa blinked at the exchange. Alexis also blinked, though mostly over the response she got.

Then the older woman sighed and bowed her head. "Okay, fair. You win this one." Nepgear smiled then, hoping that this was the last they heard about the matter. Not to mention that it had been a good distraction from the topic of her glasses.

"It's good to see you get along so well," Mari noted with a weak smile. Her eyes wandered over the three women. "My little girl found a lot of dependable friends recently."

Alexis immediately latched onto the topic, offering the older woman a mirthful smile. "Yeah, she's a dear. As her surrogate mom, maybe you should start telling us embarassing stories about her." Both of them had a laugh over that while Nepgear and Compa exchanged uncomfortable looks about the topic, mostly out of sympathy for IF.

However, they were distracted by one of the younger girls running up to them with little steps. Her eyes were big and curious, framed by blonde hair; she gently pulled on Nepgear's sleeve to get her attention, with the Candidate acting as if she had not seen her already. "Oh, hello there. Do you need something?" She spoke softly, with a gentle smile that two of the other three had not seen before.

The little one did not waste a single moment. "Can you take your glasses off, miss?" She asked without hesitation, making Nepgear blink in surprise; this was not among the questions she expected. She did it nonetheless, slipping a hand under the frame and pulling them off her face; the girl squealed happily, beaming up at her. "You look just like the Lady!"

Compa and Alexis tried to hide their sympathetic smiles while Mari's eyebrow rose over the comment. The pinkette considered Nepgear for a long moment, who chuckled in an attempt to play over the statement.

Then a cloud of confetti rained down on Nepgear, courtesy of a grinning Neptune. "If you still look like that, you didn't have enough yet!" she yelled cheerfully while plucking another handful out of the bag she carried.

"Ah, sis! Stop!" Nepgear all but squeaked as she fled the assault of paper pieces, a cackling Neptune hot on her heels. The merry chase made its way through the entire room, decorating more furniture and random people with confetti than Nepgear herself. The children cheered for them, some for Nepgear to flee and some for Neptune to catch her.

The small group by the cake smiled over the sight, watching the sisters play for a moment. Mari remained thoughtful, though. "Now that Louise mentioned it... she does look the part. Only the hair needed to be a little more pink." She considered what to make of that while the other two exchanged a glance.

Alexis was now aware of just who she had been working with for the past two years, but had no idea how to react to the situation even after getting over her awe. Meanwhile, Compa simply shrugged in response and offered the older woman a smile. "Nepgear remains Nepgear either way, so I think it doesn't matter."

That brought the youngest of the three a nod and a smile from the oldest. Mari actually reached out to pet Compa's head, be it out of reflex after being around so many children or because she saw it appropriate. "That is a good view to have." For her part, Compa smiled as well and accepted the gesture without complaint.

Once Mari had let go of her, the three of them all took a step back to dodge a ballistic party hat; the projectile drew their attention back to the sisters, who were merrily running around the increasingly messy room.

At that moment, Nepgear quickly cartwheeled around a support beam and hid from the next volley of confetti. Neptune eagerly bounced up and down in front of it, waiting for her sister to peek around. "Stop resisting and accept your fate!" the older purplette called out cheerfully.

"Never," the younger one called back from behind her cover, then went on the offensive; Nepgear threw a load of confetti at her sister and dashed out of cover, right at her.

When she jumped to get away over Neptune however, for a moment, Alexis and Compa could see how much they surpassed them; completely ignoring the distraction, Neptune raised her hands and fished her sister out of the air with ease, quickly twirling around and capturing Nepgear in a princess carry. "Haha!" she called out, "I caught a cute girl! Nep wins!"

She then proceeded to put Nepgear down while the children cheered at her, laughing happily. The women all smiled and Compa almost clapped in delight. "Nep-Nep really knows how to make children happy."

Both Mari and Alexis agreed quietly, though the latter also felt conflicted. Upon finding out that Nepgear was one of her rulers, she had quickly caught on who the other was. Seeing her like this, so completely unlike her public self, made Alexis wonder.

**. .**

**. .**

A bit later, IF returned. Her coat had been exchanged for another one of the same kind, which drew some remarks from Neptune, and her hair was still damp from the quick shower.

Before Nepgear could move in to dry her friend with magic however, some of the younger children were already there and ushered her to sit down so they could get at her. Miniature flames danced around the amused IF, warming her.

She knew that at least one of her friends was thinking something on the lines that she could dry herself that way if she actually learned how to, but the birthday girl had long since put ideas like these past herself. Her magic would likely never be that good, and there was no sense crying over spilled milk.

Additionally, she noticed that those around her were all smiling for one reason or another. Seeing this put IF at ease and she failed to even mind when Compa and Neptune came to hug her. Nepgear, Gabriel, and Alexis followed after them, but left it at handshakes. For some reason, the two humans winced when she put some force into those; the CPU only smiled back at her.

The party that followed kept going for a long while, leaving IF in a weird mood toward the evening. She still shook confetti out of her hair and could feel the slight burn of having a stomach filled with nothing but cake; her smile was small but genuine. This Saturday had been nice for her.

However, the melancholy would not want to leave entirely; it kept lingering as she looked around her room, stripped bare of her few personal effects. They had been placed in the two cardboard boxes at the wall.

She had lived in this place for the last twelve years; having to leave it now made her feel weird. IF knew it had been inevitable, but now the day had arrived.

Her chest tightened as she considered this; she was an adult now, at least legally. She would begin to live in her own place starting tomorrow, and work regular shifts at the Guild come Monday. Of course Mari had told her she could visit anytime, but IF already knew it would not be the same.

She sat down on her bed, eyes closed and quivering. It was not a farewell, she told herself.

Gradually, IF calmed herself and relaxed, falling to the side and onto the quilt with a deep sigh. She had considered staying with Compa for a bit when her friend made the offer, but ultimately declined; burdening a friend like that was not what she wanted. After looking around for the last few months, she had found a nice two-room flat downtown. It was even near the ground floor, the building it belonged to being close to the Guild HQ.

Slowly working herself under the covers, IF knew that this was the beginning of a new chapter in her life.

**. .**

**. .**

As evening turned to night and Nicos began to fall into slumber, Neptune was at work. A small stack of papers rested in front of her, quickly being depleted while soft music played over the purplette's headset.

Her computer screen remained active though unattended, mainly required for the music and Disco. Noire and Blanc, Black Heart and White Heart, were currently conversing over one thing or other in the voicechat while Neptune worked; she paid little attention to them, though attention _was_ payed in case her friends gave a good opportunity for teasing.

"Actually, Neptune?" Noire gathered the purplette's attention by calling her name; the light scratching of pen on paper became a little softer as she slowed down, casting a glance at the text chat but finding nothing of relevance. "Yep yep?"

Her chirped response prompted no reaction as Noire was long since used to her antics, but Neptune did not expect any. She had other ways for that. Her old friend spoke up after a moment of consideration: "I was just thinking. That birthday you mentioned attending, that was IF's, wasn't it?"

"Yep, it was." Neptune hummed for a moment as she pressed her seal at the bottom of a document and put it aside. "I had loads of fun."

"IF? Who is that?" Blanc's usual monotone held a glint of curiousity, underlined by the faint clacking of keys one could hear from her end.

Noire was the one to explain with a bit of mirth: "Neptune's top secret."

It only took these three words to say it all and they both knew. The purplette sighed theatrically at being found out, but figured Noire had already known for a long time. Her friends were sharp and Uni talked to her sister.

"Yeah, cat's out the bag now," she admitted cheerfully. "She will be my third Maker."

There was a momentary lull in their conversation as Blanc considered this; she had never met IF or even just heard of her, at least not directly. She could guess who it was based on at least one incident involving an Ancient Dragon that got international attention, Neptune knew, but that was likely not on the forefront of Blanc's mind.

"Is this girl really worth going a year without a third Maker?" The question was justified; their Makers were basically their right hands, taking over jobs that had to be done but the CPUs themselves did not have time for. With Purple Sister and soon Black Sister joining the fray, that burden was of course lessened by a bit, but keeping the entire globe safe remained too much for just six people, let alone four.

Yet it also was the most prestigious position one could hold aside from the seat of Oracle. Handpicked by the rulers, Makers stood as heroes in the public eye. Each one was as much of a PR move as they were taken to battle, martial celebrities to hold up morale. Leaving a seat empty for longer periods of time was not unheard of, if rare.

Neptune, however, smiled. "It will be a little longer, she still needs some time. But yes, Blanc. She is worth the wait."

"I concur," Noire noted curtly, though the softness in her tone was not missed by either of the others. "Aside from trusting Neptune's judgement, I got a look at the girl myself. Blanc, she turned eighteen today." The silence that followed was telling; Blanc knew as well as Neptune and Noire that gaining their attention like this was outstanding.

Then a fourth voice piped in, soft and melodic: "You are aware of what you are implying?" Vert joined their conversation just like that, having entered the voicechat unnoticed. Seeing that she knew what was going on, Neptune reasoned that she had been there for a bit.

Noire smoothly replied, a hint of amusement quite audible: "I am. I am also looking forward to her appointment; she is an admirable girl."

"My, how very interesting," Vert allowed gently. She was obviously curious, but Neptune knew her friend was not going to come over to check; she would be patient and wait until it was time.

Blanc told her similarly with her uncaring "We'll see".


	32. Growing Up 2

_Y'know, there's two choices you have on outdoor duty: either you get good at holding it in, or you get used to peeing outside._

-Unnamed Guild Agent

* * *

Sunday arrived all too fast, and IF left in the morning after saying her goodbyes. Nepgear even dropped by to help her move her things, carrying one of the two boxes holding her belongings.

Compa would have been helping her as well, but she had driving lessons that day; in turn however, André had brought them over to IF's new place. It was a sort-of apology for not being around for her birthday the previous day, as he had already promised his girlfriend to go on a date.

Now it was only the two friends, though; IF quickly unlocked the door of her new flat, balancing the box she held on one arm with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder. They were on the eleventh floor of the towering skyscraper, having taken the stairs just for the fun of it. IF was a little sweaty after the ascent, but otherwise fine; Nepgear did not appear bothered at all, but that was to be expected.

Once the door had been opened, IF moved inside first and Nepgear followed, the purplette pushing it closed with a foot. The human girl ignored the slightly stale air and slipped out of her shoes in the entrance area. The CPU simply vanished her own, leaving both of them to tap over the wooden floor in their socks.

This place, IF knew, belonged to the state; some properties were privately owned, but most living space remained under governmental control. As such, she found a standardised kitchen, bathroom, and living room, as well as some furniture in the bedroom. It was not all that much, but the essentials were already there. She knew she could switch them out for other pieces whenever, for a small fee to have the standard-piece deinstalled and brought away.

As it was, IF was fine with the standard furniture; mostly whites and purples and rather plain, but more than enough for her purposes. The few things she missed, she had already ordered and would install over the following weekend; a desk for her bedroom and a cabinet for her weapons. Especially after Nepgear gave her an extensive cleaning kit for her birthday, IF figured she should take better care of them. Not to mention that Uni would be mad at her if she did not.

They set down the boxes on the small dining table in the living room; Nepgear scanned the place appreciatively before throwing a curious glance at IF. "What do we start with? The boxes or your duffel bag?"

The brunette pointed at one of the boxes before turning around. "That one. I can sort my clothes in later. The place was cleaned recently and I already looked over the furniture." As she spoke, she wandered around and opened every window she came across to air the place, shuddering under the cold breeze for a moment.

Following that, she returned to Nepgear and they began to sort through her belongings in earnest. The notes IF took for and about work were filed away, her few personal effects placed around the place where they fit.

She soon came upon a folder of drawings from her surrogate siblings, which made her smile and realise she did not have any of her own. With that in mind, IF quickly got herself a blank slip of paper and noted down to get some folders for official documents; also another cabinet for things like these, which would just get dusty if left out in the open for no good reason.

Not much later, they were already done; IF had brought her clothes into her bedroom and spread them over her bed to be sorted in later. Following that and closing the windows, the two girls sat down on the couch and just took in the place for a bit.

Eventually, Nepgear spoke up with a sigh: "I actually have to head out in a bit. Sis wants me to run another extermintion close to Ziggu today and I'd rather be back before nightfall."

IF nodded slowly, thinking to remember which city Ziggu was; after a long moment of contemplation however, she shook her head slightly and cast a glance at her friend. "Where was that again?"

Nepgear considered the question before pulling out her N-Gear and swiping around a few times, until she had a map opened to show her human friend. She obviously did not mind having to explain. "It's here in the east, a harbor city."

"You're going all the way to the Droidan Sea?" Nicos was rather more to the west, so this meant there was quite some distance. IF began to understand why Nepgear had to head out so early; even if she could already fly at Mach speeds in a straight line, that would take a while. The purplette simply nodded, getting a sympathetic wince from IF. "Ouch."

"I am getting used to it," Nepgear told her with a shrug. "Sis has me run from one end of the nation to the other almost every night. I'm at a point where I only need to sleep every fourth day, so I'm fine with that. But... she gave me some hints that I'm crossing the sea for my first solo-visit to Leanbox for some business talks soon. She probably just wants to show me off again, but..." Nepgear shrugged again, a bit more helplessly.

IF cupped her face in her hands in mock exasperation. Only CPUs could view flying over the ocean as showing off. Humans could not even fly at all, and non-military air travel was prohibited due to airborne monsters.

Behind the gesture was a smile, though. "Well, I guess she trusts you to take care of yourself. You're getting more work recently, aren't you?" The purplette nodded a confirmation, though she did not appear bothered by the matter. IF was not surprised; both she and her divine friend had a firm stance on working hard. If Neptune thought her sister was ready, then she was.

Nonetheless, the human girl leaned back with a weak smirk. "I don't envy you about the extra work." Then her eyes fell on Nepgear and she actually took in her appearance for the first time. "Now that I look at you, those clothes are pretty cute."

This day, for some reason, Nepgear had foregone her usual uniform-like shirt and skirt. Instead, the CPU was clad in a purplish white sweater and blue jeans, her hair done in a long ponytail. Together with the glasses she had taken to wearing, she appeared quite different to her HDD.

Nepgear perked up with a smile, brushing over the outfit with one hand. "Heh, Sis said the same thing. I figured I should try something else for a change, and it helps with not getting recognised in public."

For a moment, IF was tempted to needle her friend about showing it off to Uni, but thought better of it. Thinking of the lastationite Candidate brought her to mind, though. "How is Uni doing? She should be through her transformation sickness by now, shouldn't she?" She received a nod, though Nepgear apparently became thoughtful as well. By the way her cheeks began to colour, IF could tell what kind of thoughts her friend had.

This, of course, was a little unusual for Nepgear. It was also increasing the temptation to tease her, but she persevered and let it be. After talking to Noire, IF realised that there was more standing in the way of those two than their own heads. Yet she was also curious about the kind of thoughts going around Nepgear's head.

After a moment of internal battle, she decided to take the plunge. "Want to talk about it?"

They both knew the purplette was obvious, so Nepgear did not need to ask what she meant. IF patiently waited for her friend to consider, who took a long moment to stare at the black screen in front of them.

In the end, Nepgear sighed and bowed her head in defeat. "I want to be with Uni some more," she finally admitted. "I've known I love her for a while, but it's just not okay to be hasty in our positions." IF nodded understandingly while the CPU buried her head in her hands, groaning sadly. "But I _want_ to be with her and it bothers me that I can't. Uni needs time to get into gear properly after her apotheosis, and I already decided to wait for her, but, but, _ugh_!"

The human woman carefuly reached out and placed a hand on Nepgear's shoulder in sympathy, the divine woman keeping her face hidden; she did not understand entirely, but she could at least guess somewhat. "Sorry I brought it up." She considered that with the centuries a deity lived, these two would have more than enough time to be together later; she wisely did not say it, though. That would not help her friend at the moment.

"It's fine," Nepgear told her a moment later, offering a weak smile as her face resurfaced. "Sis even stopped needling me about Uni, so I could tell I have it bad for her even without putting as much thought into it as I did. Thanks for listening. And don't worry, I will manage until it is time."

IF was not entirely sure how to respond to this, so she simply returned the purplette's smile. She knew she was the last person anyone should ask for relationship advice, so all she could do was listen to her friend's problems.

They sat in silence for a few long moments, listening to the clock on the wall. Then Nepgear blinked in remembrance, shaking off her current mood and pulling up her purse. "I just remembered..." She fished out a small headset, more like a headband, with one earpiece and a battery pack on top. "Here, your new gear for work. Histoire gave it to me to give to you."

IF took the device, noting a few additional straps that allowed to secure it on her head even during fast movements. Meanwhile, Nepgear explained the deal she had already researched; IF let her, thinking that it could not hurt to refresh. "We're B-rank starting tomorrow, and it's just the two of us. The Guild will assign an operator to stay in contact with us, who keeps an eye on any reports close to our positions and so on. Oh, by the way, the batteries last for a few days. There should be a second pack in your locker at HQ, you can switch and recharge them there, too."

The explanation touched a few points she had not yet known, making IF nod understandingly. She already knew things would be different, but now she had actual physical reminders of the fact. Granted, her pay had also risen considerably, but she would not bring that up around Nepgear, who did not get paid in the first place.

"Thanks for telling me. Things sure are changing recently." Once the purplette had nodded her agreement, IF changed the subject somewhat. "But there's one thing that confuses me."

She hoped that Nepgear could clarify that for her, seeing that she found nothing useful on the internet once she checked. When the purplette cast a curious glance her way, IF explained: "See, I was checking the lists of missing people a few days ago, and... on all of them, no matter how I filtered it, the first name is the same; someone called 'Waldo'. Do you know what's up with that?"

However, Nepgear did not respond; she fidgeted for a moment and averted her gaze, but no answer was forthcoming. IF's eyes narrowed in response, but the doorbell rung before she could ask any follow-up questions.

The brunette gave her friend a look that promised later questioning, then got up to get the door. She did not notice Nepgear relax and quickly pull out her tablet, the purplette moving to edit the joke out of the optimised code she had written a few years past and figured someone would clean up before implementing it.

Meanwhile, IF opened her front door without even bothering to look outside first. A moment later, a ballistic nine-year-old jumped into her arms happily. The girl was caught easily, her long mane of blonde hair immediately familiar to IF. Green eyes darted from little Louise to the gaggle of children filing in after her, and to Mari in the background. Then she raised an eyebrow. "I was gone for a few hours."

The pinkette chuckled while IF moved back to let them in, keeping a hold of Louise as she did. "While that is true, the children missed you already." There was a wave of nods and vocal agreement, making IF's chest tighten for a moment. She felt a little warmer than she had before, and her hands gently squeezed the girl she held.

She also knew she was blushing, but had nothing to do about it.

**. .**

**. .**

The day went by like that and soon turned to night, but the following day was weird to IF.

It started when her alarm buzzed her out of already forgotten dreams; she took a long while to fall asleep, which led to her internal clock not waking her before the external one could ring, as it usually did.

She woke up in an unfamiliar bed, staring at the grey ceiling for long moments after turning off the alarm; the covers were a little different, the room was larger, it felt weird. Strange, not like home.

Even after shaking off the feeling and rolling out of bed, IF found it creeping up on her again when she pulled clothes out of the unfamiliar wardrobe and quickly got dressed. Her shirt and shorts were thrown over the chair by her desk to air out, then she quickly smoothed out her bed and shook out the quilt before putting it back down orderly. She barely even noticed the actions she took, them being long since ingrained into her daily routine.

Then however, the feeling returned as she slipped into her slippers and wandered out of her bedroom after opening a window. She had made her own breakfast before when Mari taught her how to cook, but it was usually taken out of her hand; having to do it herself was at best unusual to IF, amplifying her alienation.

It was not particularly strong even then, but noticeable; IF quickly made some simple food with what Mari gave her the previous day and got to eat.

Sitting alone at her kitchen table was a new sensation as well. No cheerful chatting or groaning about school all around, just the clinking of her spoon in the mug of tea. In-between, Nepgear sent her a text saying she did not need to go to HQ to report in; they could do that once they were on duty.

After sending a quick reply, IF went back to the remainder of her food; their shift started at ten, so she still had a few hours. To pass the time until she could reasonably start her morning workout, the young woman once more looked up a few maps she had been given. They detailed the area her and Nepgear would patrol. Two entire square kilometres were set out for them.

From researching the matter, IF knew that the size was about average; Planeptune mostly consisted of vast plains, so even a single team could keep an eye on larger swathes of land. With an eight-hour shift, they definitely would be able to comb through all of it easily. An area in the northern plains was marked for Nepgear and her. It also held a small piece of Virtua Forest, but none where the trees stood close enough to hide anything dangerous.

After she had gone over everything once more and went through her morning workout, IF put on her coat and double-checked whether she had everything. Katars, pistol, binoculars, Nepgear had the compass, a bottle of water, some sandwiches for lunch, notes, phone, tracker, keys. All there. She double-checked her other pockets to see if there was anything else, noting a pack of tissues that was still more than half full.

Finding everything in order, IF nodded at herself and got going; she still felt a little weird closing the door behind herself and locking it. That was a first.

Following this, she descended to the nearby underground platform, pulling out the notes she made the previous evening. Quite a few trains ran at this time of day, bringing agents from earlier shifts back and the current shift into the field. Planeptune had a rather extensive underground-network, seeing that while it was more difficult to maintain, it was also safer.

No drones or other things were required to patrol the tunnels, seeing that larger monsters could hardly spawn in there; the trains, she read, had been reinforced in the front so they could just ram any errant monster to death. Special shock absorbers ensured that the people on board barely even noticed such an impact.

The only planeptunian train lines above-ground were those connected to Lastation and Lowee, seeing that the other nations had much less emphasis on the practice.

After boarding, she found the train empty enough to get herself a seat. There were other people, most of them from the Guild just like her.

However, IF quickly noticed that basically everyone had a badge noting them as either E- or D-rank. There was an errant C, but no higher. Seeing how she was now wearing her new shiny B-badge, she quickly gathered a bit of attention and curious looks. Nobody approached her, though.

Curiously, close to a dozen other agents disembarked at the same station as her; they quickly formed into two groups and left, some giving her encouraging nods or thumbs ups. She nodded back with a weak smile, happy about the nice gestures.

It was but a short walk from the station. A glance at her phone's clock told the brunette that she could just stroll over there without being late.

Granted, autumn had long since begun to work its magic; the few trees around the area she walked out on started to shed their leaves and the sun was blotted out by dark clouds. Rain would definitely fall before their shift was over, making IF sigh at the sight. The sky had appeared much brighter by the time she descended to the train station.

She got going while pondering the weather; thankfully however, IF already knew she had little to fear of the rain. If it came down before their shift ended, she could ask Nepgear to help her out with magic; her friend would not mind.

Granted, the brunette would not particularly mind toughing it out either, but she could live without getting a lecture from Mari about getting sick in her first week of being on her own.

Either way, Nepgear already expected her; the purplette was clad in her usual attire, having foregone the sweater and trousers for shirt and skirt once again. She waved at IF with a smile, who raised a hand in greeting; they both inspected the other's badge for a moment, not yet used to seeing the official sign of their promotion.

"Sorry, I took the previous train," her friend admitted sheepishly. "I was a little giddy about doing this." IF just shrugged, knowing that she might have done the same if her morning had not already been filled. Nepgear, who had to bother with sleep much less often, would not have this problem. Outside of hunting monsters in her free time, that was.

They chatted a little about how Ziggu had been, then stopped once their headsets emitted a click. Both agents were already wearing their equipment and a glance at the clock told IF that it was a minute past ten.

"Ah," a male voice greeted them a moment later. "This is Kylian speaking, test, test. Okay, the screen says all is fine and you're connected. I heard I got two promising newcomers?" He easily made conversation, sounding both relaxed and curious to them.

IF and Nepgear exchanged a glance, then the brunette shrugged and answered him: "Yeah, that's about right. I'm IF, nice to meet you... kind of."

He chuckled in response, then quieted to let the other woman introduce herself. "Well, I am Nepgear. It is a pleasure working with you."

"Oh, neat," Kylian went on a moment later. "I knew you two are new, but I didn't know you're two lovely ladies. I kid," he added a moment later, probably to dissolve any potential misunderstanding. "Anyway, I am your operator for the foreseeable future. I have your tracker signals on screen here, and all the other stuff you might need. Oh, and say hello to my little scout."

With that, a small drone dropped out of the sky and stopped right in front of them. Its anti-gravity field kept it steadily afloat, a lense in the front adjusting itself as it hovered in front of the two agents. "I'm also your eyes in the sky. If there is danger or something to react to close by your positions, I'll let you know."

The line fell quiet for a few moments; Nepgear curiously looked the drone over before it zipped back into the sky while IF went over her gear one more time. The brunette was in the process of strapping her katars on when Kylian spoke up again: "Okay, that should be about it. I see you got all your stuff ready, that's great. Let's get this show on the road, girls!"

Neither of them had any objections to that, so they got going.


	33. Growing Up 3

_I'm 'Broccoli' because it represents me perfectly. It's small, and healthy, and all the other kids hate it!_

_...ah, wait! No, don't cry, Mina!_

-Maker Broccoli

* * *

New Year's Eve was approaching and the people of Planeptune had already begun preparing for the festivities.

Meanwhile, IF and Nepgear were out patrolling like they were every weekday since the end of October. It became colder, to the point where IF actually carried pocket warmers and infrequently asked Nepgear for a little heatwave. Snow fell once in a while and the wind liked to squeeze coldness through the gaps in her coat.

Not that it stopped IF from doing her job; she marched on undeterred, though while ducking her chin under the coat's protective collar. Green eyes roamed the partly frozen landscape, noting that one perk of it was that she did not have to trudge through mud all that often. Nepgear walked by her side, unbothered by the forces of nature or the increasingly low light levels. With the winter solstice just past, daytime was fairly limited.

Not all was bad, of course. IF flicked her wrist to the side and engulfed a gaggle of Dogoos in fire, paying no more attention to the flashes of light as she pondered. Uni had been introduced on her recent birthday, just like Nepgear had. The internet exploded just as strongly as it had the first time.

But there was more than that. Looking back, this year had seen an abundance of new celebrities. Not only the two Candidates, but no less than _six_ new Makers. Planeptune's RED first came to mind, confusing IF a little when she thought about it; she felt as if too much happened to still be in the same year.

Then there were the Leanboxians Tekken and Cave, as well as Lowee's MarvelousAQL. All three appeared competent and strong when she looked them up in the past; by herself, IF wondered if she could keep up with powerhouses like them.

And, of course, Lastation's Falcom and K-Sha. These two she might have met two months ago, had they been at their headquarters instead of out and about. She heard later that K-Sha was busy practicing for a sniping competition with Uni, the only opponent who _could_ beat her with the rifle. She still did not know what Falcom had been doing, or where Cyberconnect2 had been in all this, but she did not feel like asking her friends.

Privately, IF did not know for sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. She did not feel ready to present herself to the Makers, but having the chance to meet some of them was not a small thing either. Some part of her _wanted_ to meet them.

In a way, the young woman was well aware of how vain she must sound if she ever voiced these thoughts. She was friends with three CPUs, acquainted with one more, and had been present for the apotheosis of two of them. Makers were not common, but there were many more of them than deities.

Nonetheless, IF felt a little sad over the fact the current generation would likely have completely switched out by the time she joined them. At eighteen, she figured she still had between five and ten years to go before then. Some of the women currently serving appeared as if they would get along well enough with her.

A lone boxbird crossed their path, paper wings beating uselessly as it chirped a challenge at the two women. IF rolled her eyes and motioned for Nepgear, who took the lead and bisected the creature once they got close. She did not even need her superior speed, IF could follow her movements with her eyes just like that.

As the monster died, they shrugged at each other. It had become routine by this point.

"So," Kylian asked them conversationally and IF could _hear_ the rustling of plastic wrappers over his microphone. He definitely did it on purpose to tease them. "Any plans for the festivities? Boyfriends or girlfriends to spend the evening with?"

He was mainly teasing with his words as well, seeing that he already knew neither of them was in a relationship. IF simply ignored that part of the question, with Nepgear doing much the same; the purplette was first to respond to the actual question, though: "I wanted to stay home and spend some time with my sister. We are both so busy recently, that will be nice."

"No plans yet," IF added a moment later. She had considered visiting her own home, if the orphanage could be called that, but was not sure about the matter. She had yet to actually do this, though many of the children dropped by her place after school. Mari also called her every week, so it was not as if she stopped interacting with everyone.

She had still felt a little weird when she was told that little Louise was adopted the previous week, but thought nothing of it.

"Oh, I see," the older man responded after another moment. "Well, I'm planning to throw a party with the other operators in my group. Feel free to drop by if you want, one or two more are always great." He dropped the teasing notions for now, though they all knew those would be back soon enough.

"Thanks, I'll think about it." IF did not feel like doing that, but it was a nice gesture in her opinion. She knew well enough that she would have given a flat no in response a few years ago; meeting Compa and Nepgear had done wonders to her ability to talk to people.

They continued their patrol quietly for a few minutes, the deterioriating lighting and their phones already telling them that it was almost time to head home. A handful of small monsters crossed their path and ceased to exist, but nothing exciting happened.

Then Nepgear turned her head to IF with a quiet "Ah", immediately gaining the brunette's attention. "Right, Sis wanted to talk to you. She didn't say what it was," Nepgear continued, heading off that very question a moment before IF could ask. "I _think_ it is something private, so you should call her about it later."

Her response was an understanding nod, more or less interrupted by Kylian's chuckling. "Oh? Is-"

They both turned their headsets off before he could say whatever tease he had now. Knowing him as well as they did by now, it would have been some kind of comment about Neptune having interest in IF.

Nonetheless, she kept thinking about what the elder CPU wanted from her. She would find out soon enough, but she was curious nonetheless.

**. .**

**. .**

Later that day, IF opened her door with a sigh and flipped the light switch; work was over and she finished her daily workout, leaving the young woman with a few hours to spend. She was not particularly tired from her routine, but there was little else to do this day.

IF slipped out of her shoes and put them on the rack, then slid her feet into a pair of slippers she had already prepared beforehand. The brunette made a quick round through her living room, throwing her coat over the couch as she went. Then she carefully pulled her pistol out of the holster strapped to her hip and placed it in front of her weapon cabinet. The katars followed a moment later, once she unbound them from her belt.

She spent a moment considering what to do next, then dug her phone out of the coat. There was a message from Compa telling her the other woman would love to do something together, which solved the issue of free time during the evening. Her friend was also sad that Nepgear did not have the time. IF quickly sent a reply to hammer out the exact time and place, then considered her weapons.

She could clean them, apply a whetstone to her katars, and take a shower easily before it was time to head out and meet up with Compa. Which decided her course of action for the remainder of the afternoon, even though a glance out of the window would make one believe it was already night.

Before IF got to her newly set work however, she flicked her phone shut and open once out of habit, then pressed speed dial three to call Neptune.

It rang for the better part of two seconds before being picked up, a cheerful voice greeting her: "Hey there, Iffy! How's your day?" The brunette did not even roll her eyes anymore, sitting down on the couch for whatever her friend wanted.

"I prefer to work when it's not snowing, but great outside of that." The purplette giggled, but stopped herself when IF continued: "I heard that you wanted to talk to me. Did anything happen?" She doubted that Neptune of all people needed help from her specifically, but she could not think of anything else.

Her friend, apparently, could. "Well, uh," she started in a slightly more subdued tone, "it's rather the opposite, y'know? Something didn't happen. You haven't looked at your family's possessions yet."

"...oh."

IF had no other response; she had completely and totally forgotten that this was due. As an adult in the legal sense, she now held ownership of her parents' belongings as the only living relative. In fact, she had barely even taken notice of the fact that the content of their long frozen bank accounts had been transferred to her own the previous month.

The young woman took a long moment to swallow the lump in her throat and calm her heavily beating heart, grateful for the fact Neptune kept quiet. Taking a deep breath, IF lowered her head slightly and leaned back to rest against the soft couch. She felt surprisingly weak all of a sudden.

"Sorry," she finally got out. "I don't know how I could forget that. It just never crossed my mind." She really had no idea on that end.

Neptune immediately cut her off there, though. "It's fine, we can just do it later. How does the weekend sound, Saturday evening?"

"Sure?" She was not particularly looking forward to the weekend now. IF knew it had to be done sooner or later, but she felt that she would rather not do this at all. Taking a deep breath, the brunette counted the days... and paused. "Wait. Saturday? Do you really have time that day?"

This Saturday was the last day of the year, which indicated that the purplette would be rather busy. However, Neptune just giggled in response. "Not really, but I want you around for New Year's Eve anyway. I already know you've got no other plans."

She broke into actual laughter over IF's defeated sigh.

After a few moments of mirth, Neptune got serious again, her high pitch going down a bit: "But really now, this is kinda important. And private, so please don't bring Compa. Nepgear won't be around, either. Just us." IF nodded, even though her friend could not see it.

She was still not sure how to feel, but Neptune taking this seriously helped her to make that decision. "Alright. When do you want me there?"

They quickly figured out the time and chatted for a bit, but Neptune soon had to get back to work and left her alone with her thoughts. IF spent a long minute just staring at her phone before flipping it shut. She had much to think about and, for once, did not want to think about it.

So instead, the young woman put the device aside and made her way into the kitchen to prepare a late lunch; the synthesizer took a moment to boot up once she activated it, enough time for her to fill the two tanks with water and base nutrients respectively.

After a moment of consideration and scrolling through the menu, IF decided to have a stew with lots of vegetables and meat. She pushed her bowl into the machine and adjusted the ports to make sure everything would end in it. Then she closed the lid, activated the synthesizer, and got herself an apple from the fridge. An actual apple in this case, harvested in Leanbox.

As the young woman munched on her little treat and peeled herself out of her clothes, she wondered how people in other nations could live without being able to synthesize their food. She could have every flavour and composition, with no downsides, ready in thirty minutes. IF knew this particular technology was native to Planeptune; a select few in the other nations may also have it, but most people rather did things their own way.

The latter she could understand, though it was difficult to imagine not having this convenience. Mari had made sure to teach her how to cook herself, but the effort it involved, from preparing the ingredients to cleaning all the pots and pans afterward, felt like time IF could better spend otherwise. She still cooked once in a while for the novelty of it, but mainly so she retained the skill.

All things considered, the Land of Purple Progress was her home after all; she could not imagine living anywhere else. Lastation was an interesting place to be, but not one where she wanted to stay indefinitely.

On the other hand, the brunette reasoned with herself as the remains of her snack landed in the bin for bio-trash, she had no real idea how her synthesizer worked. They learned the theory behind some of its basic processes in school, but IF could not even remotely figure out how it managed to create the correct shapes, flavours, and textures. If it broke, she had to call someone to get it fixed.

It was similarly with the stove for people who cooked regularly, but still a little different. Perhaps that was why the practice had remained even in Planeptune.

Successfully having distracted herself, IF left her meal to be prepared and stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. The last seconds on the timer ticked down by the time she had finished, thrown on a shirt and skirt, and wiped the shower area mostly dry.

The young woman quickly grabbed her blow dryer, opened a window so the humid air could escape, and went back to the kitchen.

She ate while drying her hair, one hand holding the spoon while the other had the device; she switched at times, mostly drying her hair over the meal and finishing up soon after, the plate and her synthesizer quickly cleaned up as well.

Seeing that she was meeting a friend later, IF actually took out a comb and went over her hair for a few minutes; it still only reached to her shoulders, so getting it presentable did not take too long.

Once that was done, she took another look at her phone's clock and nodded, then brought her weapons over to the kitchen table; with them, she carried her tools. A whetstone, several clean pieces of cloth, oil, and a few other things.

Cleaning and sharpening her weapons was a relaxing task, all things considered; IF could just let her mind rest as she kept moving her hand in the same patterns. She kept her attention on the clock, but finished a bit before it was time to head out.

With her pistol soon stored in the cabinet and the katars back on her waist, IF considered if she really wanted to go out like this. A glance into the mirror showed her what she already knew; a girl with green eyes and chocolate brown hair, clad in a blue and white t-shirt as well as a black skirt. The skirt in particular made her feel a little self-concious, as IF had basically never worn one outside unless she had to.

On the other hand, she wanted to try being a little more open with her wardrobe for a bit; as a compromise, she threw over another coat from her wardrobe, quickly emptying the pockets on what she had worn over the day. That coat, together with her worn clothes and undergarments, wandered into the currently empty clothes basket. She would do the laundry in a day or two, when there was more gathered together.

Over the last two months, IF had quickly learned many things about having to live alone. She still thanked the heavens for the internet and its numerous sources of information.

After a moment of consideration however, the brunette also got herself one of the few pantyhoses in her possession. She _could_ tough out the cold, but did not feel like doing so. She had gloves and a hat in her pockets in case it grew colder, and considered taking a scarf along as well. Though that felt like a bit much, so she dropped the idea.

Once everything was in order and the windows closed, IF took a quick glance around to double-check and grabbed her helmet before leaving and locking the door behind her. Like most places, her building had a parking lot; this was where the elevator brought her and she quickly snapped the helmet shut.

IF had parked her motorcycle nearby, which meant that she could swing herself on it within moments; she _should_ be wearing protective clothing, but forewent it because her healing magic was strong enough to treat anything non-lethal aside from broken bones. Not that she expected to get into an accident; sticking to the regulations usually lowered such risks as close to nonexistence as possible.

On the other hand, IF reasoned as she checked everything over and started the engine, it was cold outside. She only had a handful of experiences driving in the snow and knew that the streets might be slippery in places.

She was not only looking out for herself in these moments; Neptune had given her this machine as a birthday present after all, which meant she wanted to take good care of it for as long as possible. Crashing it was a big no on her list of losing it. Even if it was an older model, Nepgear had modded it over the years and kept it in good condition.

After some moments spent pushing her machine to the exit area, IF quickly operated the panel to open the doors and drove off, the automatic closing them behind her. It was convenient insofar that it kept the cold out.

She easily made her way through Nicos' streets, turning this way and that on the mostly free roads. Snow gently covered most houses and decorations, but the ground had been freed. She passed many people on foot; now that IF actually had a way of transportation for herself, she finally understood why one would not take the walkways when they could drive themselves. It was simply faster.

She still would not use this method particularly often, seeing that she had two working legs, but it was good for going out with a friend. Else she might be forced to run, which would end up with her being sweaty and smelling over the whole evening.

A prospect which IF did not mind, if she was by herself. She at least wanted to be presentable around her friends, even though Compa would not care in the slightest. Neither would the CPUs, but it was the principle of the thing.

After some consideration, the brunette turned from the usual colourful downtown area into the R18-district, where most of the lights were going toward red tones. It was a bit of a shortcut, though she felt weird driving through here.

Of course it was clean and well-maintained like every other district, but something put IF at odds with it. The escorts, bartenders, and other workers on the way to or from work paid her no mind, though she gathered a friendly wave or a smile whenever she made eye-contact with anyone. It was not the people that made this place feel weird, either.

In the end, the best explanation IF could find was that this district simply held nothing of interest for her. She had obviously been curious what happened in it before the time she was legally allowed to enter any of the places, from casinos to brothels, but she barely cared once Mari told her even back then.

Like that, she soon left the area behind and reached her actual goal. It came as a pleasant surprise that Compa was already waiting for her near the movie theatre; IF could see her as she passed by, knowing that she was seen in turn.

Compa had gotten used to the fact that the brunette was always five minutes early long ago; this was one of the few times she actually showed up before her, though. The two of them exchanged greetings while IF checked that her bike stood properly and locked it, leaving the helmet safely stowed away.

"I hope you chose us a good movie?" IF was already curious what her friend had picked out after all; Compa nodded cheerfully as they entered, then passed a ticket to her.

"Just wait here for a moment, I'm getting us some popcorn." And off she was, leaving IF in the warm lobby.

The brunette unbuckled her coat, but left it on out of habit. There were many people around, from small children to older folk. Looking at the displays for movies, she could see why; there was a lot of variation these days, to draw in as many customers as possible.

Compa quickly returned with her overpriced snack and ushered IF along, through the crowd and into one of the theatres; they needed a minute to find their seats and soon found the whole place packed with people, most of them teenagers and young adults like themselves. The brunette did notice a fair share of children, though.

The age of the audience already gave her a good idea what kind of movie this was going to be; IF had not really checked, trusting in her friend's ability not to choose total garbage. She quickly found that Compa must have decided to go for something with a more martial style. Though it was rather generic, an adventure driven by action sequences.

IF was not sure what to think of the lazy bum of a protagonist at first; he got tempted into pulling out a mythical sword because he was told it would fulfill a wish of his. Which turned out as wrong, much to the audience's amusement.

Then he was stuck with a fairy who could turn into a sword, or was the sword, who insisted he aid her in a grand task. IF did not really pay too much attention once explanations about goddesses and evil gods were given, she was more interested in that fairy's design; she appeared a bit as if the producers had taken Histoire's avatar as a baseline, then changed a few things, sized her up to human size, and set the wings to sprout from the height of her hips instead of further up.

These two at least kept bickering, which added a nice personal touch to the adventure even as they met more people who joined them. The cast was diverse and well-played for most of it, though IF began to get annoyed with the other female lead's constant complaining somewhere around the middle. That was also where the story began to get interesting, so she forgave the matter easily.

She did not know how exactly, but IF actually came to like the protagonist toward the end; while aloof, he did follow through and kept up with everyone else. She could see his character develop as the story went on.

Once the final battle concluded however, things became strange. One of the main cast was dead, some impressive emotional acting, and then the protagonist was engulfed in white light. The credits rolled right after, leaving the audience wondering what happened there. A song played over the credit scenes, one particular note in them telling them that the music had been composed and sung by 5pb. herself. It definitely enhanced the entire experience.

"Hm... did they really have to end it on a cliffhanger?" Compa did not appear too happy about it, though the fact her eyes were still wet from the death scene earlier made it clear she was not mad. IF just shrugged and offered her friend a handkerchief, which was taken with a quiet "thank you".

In retrospect, she was amazed with what the studio created there; CG had been used and she spotted it once or twice, but they managed to hide it well, particularly in the scenes where the actors actually used magic. It did not really touch her as much as it apparently touched Compa, mainly because she already had so much fighting in her everyday life.

That aside, the movie had been more enjoyable than she would have given it credit beforehand. Compa agreed when she told her that.

The two exited with the general crowd but quickly broke off to the parking lot.

IF considered what to do next; the night was still early, so they _could_ go elsewhere. Her mind was drawn back to the district she passed through earlier; theoretically, she thought, they could check out one of the clubs there. They were old enough to be let in now.

However, she also knew she had work the next day; if she already decided to make a first experience with alcohol, she would not do that before a workday. The train of thought made her curious, though. "Hey, have you been to a club yet?" Which also broke the momentary silence that had hung between them.

"Hm? Oh." Compa gave her a curious look over the question. "Yeah, the girls went there a few times and I tagged along." She gave a thoughtful hum before casting another glance her way. "It's nice, but I don't think you would like it. Too loud, and basically everyone below twenty-five is trying to hook up."

IF blinked at that. "Huh." She was admittedly a little surprised by the assessment. Not particularly its accuracy, but mostly its honesty. Compa used to be somewhat nicer in phrasing these things.

Playing over her surprise, IF nodded and pushed her hands into her pockets. "I guess. I'm mostly just curious because everyone else seems so interested. Or maybe I just want to do it once so I can be sure it's not my cup of tea," she offered with a shrug. "Thanks for the warning, though." Compa shrugged back, though she also smiled. IF did not think much of it and changed the subject instead: "Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve?"

She got a reaction this time, though it took a moment to register how her friend's smile turned apologeptic. "Yeah, I do. Sorry-" "It's fine, I'm busy myself. Nep wants me at her place for some business." IF immediately interrupted the apology, knowing that it would go on for a bit if she let Compa gather steam.

She rather remind herself of what was coming up on Saturday than make Compa worry. Though, in retrospect, the brunette was amazed how she had managed to keep her mind off of it for the last few hours.

On the other hand, now she _really_ wanted to just go home. So with that settled in her mind, IF turned her attention back to Compa, who fidgeted a little. Their breaths were coming as white clouds from the cold, but she could tell her friend was not nervous due to the cold.

Instead of raising an eyebrow at the other woman, IF huffed. She knew this kind of situation by heart by now. Compa wanted to tell her something, but did not know how to approach the topic. "Come on, out with it."

She stepped a little bit aside from the main path in case someone else wanted to reach the parking lot, her friend following a moment later with a nervous giggle. "Ehehe, well, it's, um, I wanted to say before... I'm actually going on a date that day."

Now it was for IF to pause; that was not exactly what she had expected to hear. On the other hand, it made sense to her after a moment of thought. Compa had been dating before, but went without a boyfriend for the past year after her last breakup. They rarely talked about it, though; IF was no good for relationship advice and her friend appeared to dislike talking about her relationships with someone who had none, perhaps out of unnecessary consideration.

Which was not to say that she had not jumped in to comfort her the previous time; it was probably the only time she had ever been in the same room as some of Compa's other friends without any kind of tension between them.

Shaking off these thoughts, IF offered her friend a thumbs up. "That's great for you, but why so nervous? You know I don't mind." Her question made Compa giggle again, though she blushed a little as she did.

"Well, hehe, most of my friends are kind of busy. So I _might_ not have had anyone to gossip with just yet. It's very recent, he asked me out two weeks ago." The other woman appeared a little flustered, though IF merely shrugged and accepted the unspoken question.

"I don't mind listening, but not out in the cold." IF nonchalantly pointed over to a nearby cafe.

Compa's head turned to follow the motion, then she nodded with a grateful smile. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Thank you and sorry I'm making you listen to me about this." IF considered this for a moment as she began to lead the way to the next crossing; Compa probably did not want to make her feel bad for not having a partner herself.

However, the brunette shrugged again. "As I said, I don't mind. I told you before it doesn't matter to me and I don't mind being by myself. Besides," she added with a smirk thrown at her friend, "I'm curious what kind of guy you found yourself." IF had rarely interacted with Compa's boyfriends over the years; it was partly because they often belonged to the crowd that did not get along with her, partly the fact Compa and her usually hung out with Nepgear, who had love problems of her own.

No matter how airheaded Compa could be at times, she was incredibly sharp when it came to people. She introduced a boyfriend to Nepgear once and never thereafter. Now that she thought about it, IF finally realised how right her friend had been with that decision.

The two young women quickly made their way to the other side of the street and into the cafe, where they secured a booth in a corner and placed their orders. A cup of tea and a salad for IF, some coffee and a slice of cake for Compa. The thought of sweets tempted IF as well for a moment, but she had already eaten some chocolate earlier in the day and found that to be enough.

Once they had settled down, the brunette gave her friend a nudge. "So, out with it. What's he like? How did you meet?"

"Heh," Compa laughed quietly while fiddling with her thumbs. "He's really sweet, all around. I, um, we met at school, actually. He, his name is Hubert, he studies medicine at the moment. We have a few classes together and he just came up and asked me out one morning." Her muscles relaxed as she spoke, Compa being obviously happy to explain the matter. "I admit I didn't notice him much before. He is nice and has a few friends he usually hangs out with, but more... plain, I guess? Nepgear's kind of plain."

IF immediately understood what Compa meant, though it was hard to put into words. Taking her inhuman beauty aside, Nepgear had a friendly but normal character; a friendly girl next door that nobody noticed particularly much because her presence was so natural. Yet this concept was hard to put into words.

Once she nodded, Compa went on with a thoughtful look. "So he asked me out and I said yes on a whim." IF had to bite back a comment there, but her friend did not seem to notice as she went on. "Then, come Saturday, we meet up in town and he gives me flowers. A whole bouquet." Compa motioned for the size of it with her hands as she spoke, her excitement clearly visible.

By this point, their orders arrived and the two took a momentary pause to take a few bites.

Compa was back at it moments later, still smiling. "But really, he is a total dear and a gentleman, too. And- uh, no, I really shouldn't talk about that." She blushed a little and turned her head away, making IF roll her eyes in response.

The brunette decided that her friend had asked for it and nudged her lightly. "Was that supposed to be 'And he is a great kisser', perchance?" Compa simply nodded, still embarassed. IF reasoned that it was more about getting into territory she knew she should not gossip about than the act itself; Compa was no prude.

"I see," IF finally allowed, though she held an amused smile nonetheless. Her friend was obviously happy despite her current embarassment. She considered teasing a little more, but decided against it this time.

The two of them kept talking on the matter for a while; in time, IF came to realise that Compa had found a match. She would have to get a look at him herself to be sure he was like her friend described him, but that was only a minor concern. Compa fell head over heels, as even IF could tell. She mercifully did not say anything and indulged the other woman.

When they decided it was time to head home however, IF's thoughts were drawn back to the following Saturday. It was for other reasons, but the leap to her own troubles could hardly get any easier. Yet she kept quiet about the matter, unwilling to bother her friend with it.

The thought remained with her as she carefully passed through Nicos, the capital's travel having slowed down a notch since her last ride. Compa's arms were linked around her waist, the other woman clinging to IF as she drove; her offer of taking her friend home had been accepted. Moments like these were what IF kept the spare helmet around for.

While most of her was focussed on driving, the brunette did have a bit of time to think about what was going on. Mari had hammered into her that she was not supposed to bottle up her feelings; it came naturally, the unwillingness to bother people she liked. IF did not want to darken their days with her own worries.

It was tempting, though. She knew she could always talk to Nepgear and Neptune; the feeling with them was different.

Deep down, IF unconciously remembered the power of their presences; the warmth and security that one could feel just from being around their divine forms. She knew she could confide in them, that they would not falter from anything she could say as long as it was honest.

She knew the same thing about Compa and Mari, and to a lesser extent her old team, too. Yet it felt less pronounced; her mind was able to push these notions aside, but it could not do the same with the CPUs.

The one person IF definitely did not want to bother about this was Uni, though; her newest friend had enough on her own plate, having to restructure her own head and getting started on public work at the same time.

So after dropping Compa off and wishing her a good night, IF carried on. She paid little mind to the electrical engine humming under her, thoughts directed at finding her favourite park. It was vast enough to have a few streets lead into it, which she took before turning off the bike and wandering off.

As the dark trees surrounded her, illuminated only by a few faint streelights, the young woman flipped open her phone and took a deep breath. Neptune _had_ told her to call whenever she felt like talking, an offer which IF had rarely taken her up on.

She sat down on a wooden bench that was rather cold, but ignored the sensation in favour of leaning back and looking up at the stars. Even from within the bright city, one could see some of them where she was. The parks were vast enough for that; no monsters, but one could almost forget they were in the city.

Her finger pressed down one button for speed-dial; by herself, IF noted that Neptune had been right once again. Stargazing was relaxing after a long day.

"Hiya, Iffy! What's up?" And there was the woman herself, bright and cheerful as always. IF chuckled, wondering what to talk about. She wanted to hear a friendly voice for a bit.


	34. Growing Up 4

_Brute force is always a solution, although never a good one._

-Planeptunian proverb

* * *

Nicos was wide awake, even in the middle of night. For this night was a special one. All the large screens, signs, and billboards held a countdown that slowly ticked down; people around the city were following this process expectantly. Almost no one worked on this night

A gentle snowfall accompanied the proceedings, coating the metallic city in a coat of pure white.

The new year was but a few minutes away.

Far above everyone else, IF and Neptune were watching. From this far up high, the people below them were little bigger than ants; she could see the streetlamps and a few impromptu bonfires, as well as mages providing either light or flame for brightness and warmth.

Cold wind entered the CPUs' home through the open window, ignored by the three of them; IF was more entranced by the purplish aura that coiled around Neptune, dissipating into the air outside as it reached further from her. Neptune herself obviously could not care less.

And Histoire, who had joined them for the time being, obviously had no problem with the cold either. The Tome stayed to the side.

IF was not entirely sure what her friend was doing there, but she could guess well enough. The weather forecast had mentioned strong wind and heavy snowfall around Nicos, not the light one they were having at the moment. She assumed that Neptune was keeping the weather steady for the new year.

It was fascinating how casually a CPU could exert her will over nature. She had rarely seen it before, as Neptune did not do this too often.

Nonetheless, the purplette wore a serene smile as her eyes wandered over the many people filling the streets below. From children to elders, everyone gathered together to celebrate the arrival of a new year. "I love festivals," she chirped while turning her head this way and that.

"I agree," Histoire offered from her place on the table, sitting in a tiny chair and with a tiny mug in hand. "Everyone is in high spirits during those events. It is quite invigorating." The small woman took a sip from her tea, though she lowered the mug when Neptune began to giggle.

IF just raised an eyebrow while the CPU turned her head to meet her Oracle's eyes. "Silly Histy, I love festivals because you can't stop me from stuffing myself with pudding!" She lazily motioned for a small pile of empty plastic cups, all of them originally full. The purplette was only half-joking, they knew, but Neptune was enamored with her pudding.

In response, the Tome just shook her head; IF refrained from rolling her eyes this time. She was used to the purplette's antics by now.

It was still a little sad that Nepgear could not join them; the younger CPU had insisted on taking care of a group of Turtles that spawned in the north. Be it either so Neptune herself did not have to go, or so the airforce did not have to call their people in.

It had been surprising that the sisters did not insist on spending the whole day together like Nepgear said a few days earlier; when IF brought it up however, Neptune simply told her that Nepgear was an adult. She took her work as serious as IF herself, even if that was less visible. She would be back within two hours and they had already lazed around together in the afternoon. For Neptune, that seemed to be more than enough. IF could see why, even though she did not like the pang of envy it made her feel.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the countdown, which had reached the final stretch. It hit zero moments later, accompanied by cheers and the hissing of fireworks. The CPU and Tome shared a chuckle over the sight, then Histoire turned her head to IF with a smile. "Happy 513, Isabelle."

The brunette smiled right back. "Yeah, happy 513, Histoire, Nep." The purplette gave a thumbs-up while the blonde nodded. Truthfully, it had taken some time to get used to calling the Tome by her name in private; Histoire had insisted, so IF complied despite feeling a little odd. She definitely could not call her by a nickname like Neptune did.

Either way, a new year had finally arrived. Five hundred and thirteen years since Planeptune was founded, more than half a millennium. IF mulled that over while she watched the sky being painted in myriads of colours below her, Planeptower standing so high the fireworks did not reach beyond it. The most prominent colour was obviously purple, reminiscent of the home Neptune had created for them.

On impulse, IF poked the purplette's shoulder and offered her a smile. "Thanks for your hard work, Nep." Much different to her usual behaviour however, Neptune did not become hyper or tease her. She just smiled back.

Like this, the three of them watched the lights for a while. It was a little weird to see from above, though IF did not mind the different perspective for a change. She shivered a little under the cold air, but quickly found a blanket winding around herself. Histoire did not say anything else on the matter, though.

After a few minutes however, Neptune began to smirk while the aura permeating the air grew in power. The glow even included IF by the purplette's side; she could have told either way, knowing that nothing should taste of gentleness and mirth. That was not tastes, yet they lay on her tongue in these moments. "Nep, what are you doing?" She was not concerned, but there was a wary edge in her voice. IF knew the things that could happen when Neptune had ideas.

By their side, Histoire curiously watched the display as well. However, her expression changed to an understanding one at around the time the CPU's smirk widened; she had already analysed her partner's actions.

"Just you watch, gals! This is how CPUs do fireworks!" As if on cue, which it was, the sky brightened in purple light that bathed the entire city below them. Once it did, the hail of rockets and other fireworks ceased as people stared upward throughout Nicos.

IF also leaned closer to the window, but could not properly see anything from where she was. A few more attempts were made, but she could not figure out what her friend had done.

Not even a minute after Neptune started, IF could feel her phone vibrate. Opening it, she found Chirper, which had already been going strong with chirps about the new year, in the process of exploding over one image; Planeptunian sky, full of snow yet illuminated.

Up high, purple letters formed a neat row, wishing the people a happy new year. IF got to see it from every possible direction before closing Chirper and snapping her phone shut. When she looked up, she found the biggest grin on Neptune's face and sighed. Even though exasperated, she could not help but smile fondly. "Why am I not surprised?"

Histoire chuckled in her seat. "Oh Neptune."

The purplette nodded in satisfaction, then wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead. "Whew, I'm beat." The light died down a moment later, as did her friend's aura. "That's it from me today." Her gaze wandered back outside, but soon returned to IF; the smirk had turned back into a smile, though this one was much softer. "Shall we get going?"

The brunette blinked before nodding quietly. She was a little confused about her friend's exhaustion, but being reminded of their plans for the night pushed the question out of her mind for now.

"If you do not mind," Histoire noted as they got up to leave, "I would rather stay and watch the fireworks." The blonde remained on her little chair, offering IF a reassuring smile as both her and Neptune nodded. They quietly left the room as the Tome rose into the air, the elevator's doors closing when she touched down on the windowsill.

Once they began their long descent, IF's mind slowly began to turn into a roller coaster.

She did not want to see these things, she really did not want to. Yet she knew she had to do this sooner or later. As much as she disliked it, she could not just let this sit. It still hurt, even after all this time.

To get her mind off of it for a little while longer, she cast another curious glance at her friend. Neptune still had this earthy scent about her, despite being sweaty and panting a little. "Did that really tire you out?" she could not help but ask.

Neptune blinked at her, then shrugged. "Yeah, it's not as easy as it looks." The purplette tilted her head and looked at the ground in thought as she recounted: "You know how us CPUs can terraform?" It was a rhetorical question, they both knew that. "Well, it is one of the few things even Candidates can't. Main CPU only, possibly because it takes so much energy. Or maybe it's arbitrary, I don't know.

"Fact is, terraforming is a powerful, powerful thing. I made it combat-capable during the war and trust me, the gals hated me for it." IF's eyebrow rose in surprise over the admission, mainly because this was the first time she ever heard Neptune bring up the Console War. The purplette continued before any questions could be asked. "It lets us rearrange the landscape on a whim, change the composition of the ground and the air, everything. Weather control is more of an extension."

The elevator's display noted that they only had another hundred storeys to go until ground level, though neither woman paid it any mind. Neptune continued after a moment of thought. "It takes a lot out of us, even with hundreds of years of practice. Same as staying transformed for longer amounts of time. Y'know, a little like you feel at the end of a long day. I can recuperate without sleep, but I'm still exhausted at the end. Weather control is easier than the rest, but the lightshow took a lot more effort. Had to change the air in the right areas, keep the gas contained there, light it up, create more as it burned out, remove the waste products, you get what I mean. Lots of finnicky bits."

IF nodded slowly, making sense of what was said without actually understanding what Neptune talked about. She doubted her ability to grasp it even if her friend had put it in exact terms. Like Nepgear said a few months ago, it was like trying to explain what magic felt like to someone who had none. They could not really understand the feeling of it flowing through one's body, focussing through even an unconcious thought. They never felt the tingling magic left when it slid over one's nerves once one began to focus it, or the disembodiment of still being connected with it once it left the body.

IF had heard it described as having an additional, unconnected limb, but that was barely adequate as a description. Her own control was so bad she barely could keep it in her grasp either way, but the amount of detailed work a seasoned mage could do was astounding.

The ding of the elevator startled her out of the tangent; at the same time, Neptune's hand snaked into her own and squeezed it gently. "We're here, let's go."

And as Isabelle turned to look at her friend, she found the purplette with a calm yet barely readable expression; she was led through underground corridors, Neptune silently reading the labels on each door they passed. Planeptower's storage area was large out of necessity, for all the bad that implied.

No words were spoken, though Isabelle took note of the light layer of dust coating the corridors; there were a few sets of footsteps in them, but not many. She could guess that they cleaned only sporadically, seeing how few people came down here.

The young woman knew all of their possessions had been stored below Planeptower for many years; this even included the furniture, which had been preserve until she was old enough to sort through it. Having to decide which to keep, however, did not feel like a good task to her. Her chest was throbbing in old emotions; Isabelle thought she was over it by now, but had to realise she was not.

Soon enough, Neptune slowed down in front of the correct door, which she opened before letting Isabelle enter first. The human woman was tempted to let her friend go ahead for a long moment, but shook it off and stepped inside.

Then she was wandering between old furniture and other belongings, neatly sorted and placed together. She tried to remember anything concrete about it, but managed no more than finding some things familiar. She felt like she recognised the pattern on that table cloth, or like she had seen this cupboard before, but her memory refused to cooperate.

Whatever might have been there was now lost to time, as well as an iron mind refusing to allow what little was left back up to be refreshed over the years.

Neptune remained in the background, though she never strayed far from Isabelle; the younger woman considered asking if she had been down here before, but figured it was not really worth talking about at the moment. The purplette kept looking around curiously either way, just like Isabelle herself.

Her steps were dull in this quiet place as she wandered, but Isabelle soon came to another halt next to a set of picture frames. They were as old as everything else, but the metal and glass had done its work in preserving the images they were guarding. Pictures of her family.

She quietly regarded a much younger her, one which she had seen on some old pictures Mari took. This Isabelle held an honest smile, still full of holes as not all her teeth had broken through just yet. Another was happily sitting in her mother's lap, the woman's face barely recognisable. She could recognise her, though; they shared enough traits to be familiar, from their hair to their facial features.

In another picture, her mother and father stood together with their hands intertwined. A young couple like so many others she saw over the years.

In the present, Isabelle felt hollow. Her eyes stung from unshed tears while her fingers ran over the pictures, back and forth, back and forth.

Taking a deep breath, she rubbed the wetness from her face and went on, Neptune quietly strolling after her. The purplette obviously knew what was going on, but mercifully kept quiet about it.

Isabelle took some time looking over her parents' belongings, investigating old jewelry and other such things carefully. At some point however, she felt Neptune pulling on her sleeve; the CPU wore a soft expression, but the lack of a smile gave the human pause.

"It's okay to be honest with yourself, you know?" The question lacked its usual pep, quiet and honest while Neptune herself took a step closer to Isabelle, who was not sure how to react. "I can tell you're still hurting." Following that, she gently brought her arms around the taller woman and pulled her into a warm embrace.

It was different from Neptune's casual hugs. There was actual strength in her arms this time, squeezing Isabelle tightly and making her feel safe; a slender hand soothingly stroked her back while she relaxed into the embrace, slowly returning it.

The aching in her chest was still there; she missed them so much more than she had admitted to herself over the years. Yet Neptune was there, holding her, ignoring her silent tears. She did not need to say anything, the purplette knew it all.

"You know, I'm the first person to blame myself for what happened to you," Neptune started. Isabelle listened quietly, comprehending yet unwilling to react. "If I'd been faster that day... but that is so long in the past, and I can't do anything about it. You and I are here now, and it happened." The words continued to come, hurting and soothing her at the same time. "Your mom and dad aren't here, and I'm sorry that I couldn't save them, too. So I'm going to say it in their stead."

With that, the warmth receded a little as Isabelle was held at arms' length, Neptune's lilac eyes wandering over her warmly. "I'm proud of you. I love you."

Then she was pulled back in, stunned as she was. Isabelle had no words to speak in response, just weak sobs as she began to cling to the CPU. Neptune kept comforting her gently and with quiet words: "You're gonna make it big, Isa. I mean it, I love you. If I actually could have kids, I'd have wanted one just like you."

Neptune's words made warmth blossom in Isabelle's chest, but her voice still failed her. She just quietly clung to the smaller woman for an instant of eternity; neither knew how much time exactly passed, and neither of them cared.

As Isabelle calmed down and her tears had began to dry, Neptune let go and held her at arms' length again. A playful smile brightened the purplette's expression. "This would be the point where I tell you that you're pushing yourself too hard, but, well, that would make me a hypocrite and you wouldn't listen, so let's not."

Isabelle nodded quietly, taking in the words but having no actual response at the moment. She quietly started to wipe the wetness off of her cheeks, but was quickly interrupted by a soft cloth handkerchief driving her sleeves away. Neptune carefully wiped her face clean, gentle from beginning to end. She continued to talk, her words making the human girl feel as if she was transparent: "I know you think it wouldn't work either way. You are who you are and you don't want to be anyone else."

Their eyes met and Isabelle averted her gaze quickly; it did not stop Neptune from speaking, though. "And you are right, in a way. I won't ask you to become someone else, either. All I want is that you don't break yourself, yes? Can you promise me that?"

The silence held for a long moment, then Isabelle nodded; her mind was in turmoil yet deadly quiet, not allowing her to talk back at the moment. As she began to push it back into order, a pair of soft hands cupped her cheeks and made her meet Neptune's lilac eyes again. The CPU was no longer smiling. "I won't tell anyone about this," she promised. "And I'll tell you a secret, too: I'm not okay either."

The admission gave Isabelle pause, but Neptune just shushed her. "Don't, please. No talky, yeah? I don't like talking about it any more than you do." Once the brunette nodded again, the purplette sighed. "It's just... this is between us. Even Nepgear has no idea and I don't want her to know. Heck, I haven't even told any of the gals." The mischievous twinkle failed to brighten Neptune's eyes this time, making Isabelle worry as she saw it. She did agree not to speak though, so she waited.

"It takes a lot more to phase one of us," Neptune finally told her thoughtfully. "But there are things that will. I haven't ever suffered from Bad End Syndrome like the other CPUs." She paused over the younger woman's lost look and explained: "It's basically the worst one of us can get. Constant flashes of imagined ruin, panic attacks... it is our equivalent to depression, I guess."

Then she shook her head and got back on topic: "Anyway, I don't have that. Never did, either." That did give Isabelle several questions, such as what the other CPUs got such a thing from, but Neptune already went on: "what I have is... in some ways worse, as it won't ever go away. I got to stare oblivion in Her eldritch face before."

The revelation made Isabelle suck in a breath; Neptune did not need to explain who she meant. The Deity of Sin herself. "The problem is... she doesn't leave. Even if you avert your gaze, even if you never come back, she is still there. Sometimes I can even hear her speak. It's not a good thing, Isa."

Neptune spoke quietly, but her eyes never left the younger one's face. "So don't forget: it's okay not to be okay. It is something you have to live with, and to make the best of. Just... don't ever give in. Do not let it win, even if 'it' is a part of you."

She left it at that and embraced Isabelle again; the brunette timidly returned the hug and just remained like that for a long while.


	35. Growing Up 5

_Humans breathe to take in oxygen, which they need to stay alive; but why do CPUs?_

_As is generally known, deities are born from Share Energy and their bodies are made exclusively out of it; logically, they should not need to take in oxygen to keep their metabolism going, especially considering the amount necessary to power such strength, endurance and speed. It is therefore viable to assume their organism to gain something else from the surrounding air._

_Furthermore, it is also known that Share Energy is generally the only necessity for a CPU to have; everything else is merely a convenience, so one can assume that particles of Share Energy, or maybe even Sharicite, are present in Gamindustri's atmosphere._

-Excerpt from "A Theoretical Analysis of General Share Distribution"

_Eh, we breathe so we appear less unnatural to humans._

-Neptune's unsent response

* * *

No less than four months had passed since IF's heart-to-heart with Neptune; with April having begun a few days earlier, her moving out to live by herself was now six months ago. Time passed quickly.

She had taken up the habit of talking to Neptune; nothing special or important, just about her day. The purplette called it a 'soft-counseling', though IF was not entirely sure what to make of that. She felt lighter these days; Nepgear said she smiled more than she used to, but that was up to debate.

Either way, IF was glad with the slight turn her life took.

In regard to turns in life however, Compa had her beat; the peach-haired girl moved in with her boyfriend two weeks earlier. Seeing how happy she was, IF could not help but be glad for her.

In addition, she would get to meet this boyfriend soon; it took a while to schedule a get-together, seeing how all of them were busy. However, now that Compa was on break from nursing school and Hubert's semester at university had ended, they finally managed to find the time.

Their meeting place was innocious enough, being the mall she had become quite familiar with over the last few years. As IF waited for the other two, she quietly rubbed her temple with one hand and focussed on pushing out the irritating feeling. She suspected a cold coming up, but the headaches were more tenacious than usual. She simply failed to ignore them, somehow.

And as if that was not enough, her body had apparently decided to wage war on her by throwing period cramps into the mix. Something which she had had before, but could not just ignore this time because of that persistent headache.

She shrugged it off when she saw a familiar face appear around a corner; the two of them exchanged waves as Compa made her way over, the young man by her side following with a friendly smile. IF curiously examined him, noting the black hair and that he was only a little bit taller than Compa. She could not make out his eye colour on this distance, though.

What she _could_ make out were his dark jeans and dark blue shirt, the latter of which had a stylised guitar and '5pb.' printed on the chest.

"Hey, Iffy," her friend greeted once they met up, hugging IF briefly before letting go and giving her a chance to shake hands with her boyfriend. "This is Hubert."

"Nice to meet you, I'm IF." the brunette offered as they shook; she kept her confusion about his weak handshake to herself while Hubert gave her a nod.

"Likewise. Colette told me a lot about you, I'm glad we finally found a time that works." His voice was a pleasant baritone, though it did not exactly fit with his appearance. Not remotely as jarring as Neptune suddenly dropping two octaves while in her civilian form, but noticeable.

IF cast a glance to her friend, who did not give any hints as to what exactly she had told her boyfriend. The brunette rolled her eyes at that. "I don't really care what we do, so you choose."

She felt a little bit out of place being alone with the couple, but Compa had insisted as she was one of the last to actually meet Hubert. Nonetheless, IF had already decided to try making the best of it. "But I can't stay for too long. Feeling a little under the weather." It was a white lie, really. There was no need to bother her friend about something as fleeting as a headache.

"Oh, that's alright," Hubert told her with a smile. "You shouldn't push yourself for us. Just say if you don't feel well." Compa nodded along, obviously in total agreement. The sight brought a weak smile on IF's face and they wandered into the mall proper.

A few steps in however, Hubert's brows furrowed and he considered IF again. "Though I could swear I saw you before, somewhere." He pondered that for a moment while IF raised an eyebrow at him.

The subject brought a giggle out of Compa, who mischievously pointed at the brunette's shiny B-rank badge. "You probably did. Iffy is the Guild's rising star!" Her mirth only grew over the stinkeye IF sent her way; they had this discussion often enough for Compa to know that IF did not think herself that good.

Much to her relief, Hubert did not join the banter; he kept musing a little longer, then began to fish for his phone as realisation hit him. "Ah, right." They took a step to the side as to not bother anyone walking in after them while he flipped through some pictures. When he held the phone out to them, it showed a slightly younger IF, in the process of exchanging fire with an Ancient Dragon.

At least the force with which her palm hit her forehead did not worsen the headache. Compa giggled while her boyfriend was simply confused. "Please don't remind me," IF told him with a grimace. She held back on mentioning the phantom pain she had at a few rare times, but only barely. Cooking her arms from the inside out was not an experience she wanted to repeat, or to be reminded of.

"She doesn't like the attention," Compa helpfully supplied while Hubert pocketed his phone; he just nodded understandingly and dropped the matter. "Anyway," the aspiring nurse continued with a bright smile, "how about we go shopping for-" "No."

She blinked at IF, who had her arms crossed and shook her head. "Nonononono, no. I know how that sentence is going to end, and no." Her vehement refusal made Compa break out into hearty laughter, much to Hubert's confusion.

IF had been clothes-shopping with Compa before. She already decided for herself that she would never, ever, do that again. Not only had her friend the habit of trying to get her to wear casual clothes in public, she also always took many hours to look through everything the stores had and which might be even remotely interesting.

IF was still not comfortable wearing anything but her regular clothes outside; she did not mind picking something else while at home, but the young woman felt weird without her coat on.

"Um," the man in their company caught their attention as he slowly raised a hand. "Do you mind if I pick our first stop?" IF merely shrugged; Compa motioned for him to do so while her giggles died down, coaxing a fond smile out of Hubert. The brunette tried to pay attention to these things for a change, curious how those two interacted.

So they wandered through the mall, quickly descending to the lowest floor as Hubert led them. IF followed curiously and soon found their destination: a pet shop. Not a place she usually visited, though she did not feel any dislike toward the idea.

Once Compa saw it, she squealed in joy and IF realised why he chose this place. She threw Hubert a sly smile, to which he blushed and averted his gaze.

They entered the slightly warmer shop, but Compa immediately made a beeline for a certain area further in; IF and Hubert followed, the former amused and the latter fond. They saw where their journey went a moment later, to a pen filled with guinea pigs. Some other children were around this place as well, the entire situation only bringing amused smiles from the staff.

Though IF noticed that most people cooing over the animals were rather younger than them. She even recognised one girl from the orphanage.

Then again, those guinea pigs _were_ cute even to her. It merely took much more to make her squeal over cuteness; such as remembering two perfectly adorable Candidate-kids.

She shook her head to get the image out of her mind; one of their number was already on a high, she did not need to follow. IF simply watched the little things go about their day, running around, eating, doing nothing particularly productive.

Then her headache worsened for an instant, making her brow furrow as she tried to ignore it. This had been happening for a while now, though she managed to get by.

"Iffy, look! Look at this cute one!" Compa's call snapped her out of it; her friend was looking into the pen and pointed right at a specimen with yellowish golden fur that was sitting in front of her. IF pushed the pain aside and wandered over, taking in the guinea pig curiously. She had to agree that it was cute how the critter stared up at them.

As she came closer however, the animal squeaked in alarm and ran off. Following this one, all the other guinea pigs in the pen also retreated from her for some reason. IF tilted her head in confusion while everyone else looked either at the scared animals or at her. Then she shrugged and took a few steps back, suppressing a sigh. Whatever this had been, she felt that it really could have happened in a better situation.

Hubert and Compa were also eyeing the guinea pigs in confusion while IF fought with her headache again. The staff had already moved in to check the animals, who had relaxed with IF out of their sight. Whatever happened appeared to be over.

The brunette was confused, but decided not to think too much about it. Not that she could, with her mind and body trying to knock her out.

A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting on a bench in the atrium; IF was slumped back against the wall behind them, eyes closed as she silently bore with her predicament. Toughing it out as usual became much more difficult for some reason.

"That was weird," Hubert noted with a curious glance toward IF. "Do animals usually react to you like that?" Both women shook their heads, which made him lower his own in thought. "Hm."

Neither of them knew for sure what had happened, or why. However, IF was not really in a condition to keep thinking about it. The pain in her head continued to increase and her body began to feel weird, both light and heavy at the same time. Something different from her magic was crawling under her skin.

"Hm-oh. Is everything alright? You look pretty pale, IF." Hubert's voice only weakly reached the brunette, who fought with the shudders running through her body. The cramps were basically forgotten by this point, she just wanted to go home and lie down.

Whatever she had was pushed back under her will as the young woman aligned her feet and got up without a word. Then it returned and finally overwhelmed her; IF stumbled forward, her chest tightening painfully. Hands caught her and Compa shouted something, but she could not make anything of the words.

Her eyes widened as her heartbeat sped up, becoming so strong that she could audibly hear it. Then it slowed down, together with everything else; it was as if she was lowered to the ground in slow motion.

Then it sped up again, and everything became dark.

**::**

Compa sniffled as she watched her unconcious friend on the ground; she already called an ambulance, but that would take a moment. Hubert was still checking her over as best as he could, but Compa herself could do no more.

The small crowd that formed talked among each other about whether there was someone who could help, but she paid them no mind. Her heart was throbbing, and she wondered just why the world had to be unfair like that; why IF of all people?

This woman was always strong, unbent. She was a constant, one who could withstand anything and everything, yet there she lay. Brought down by her own body.

As she still lamented however, she could feel something creeping through her mind. A familiar sensation. It wiped away the young woman's sorrow and replaced it with surprised awe in an instant.

In the same moment, mist began to seep through IF's skin and clothes. A deep, strong blue that put their minds at ease with its mere presence. It wafted not far from the brunette, enveloping her but never once taking sight of her.

Hubert was still in the process of falling backward when it receded into IF again, like a gentle fountain that had suddenly been reversed.

There was no sound among the people who saw. IF lay still, but breathed much more evenly now; the rush of power was gone, yet they all had felt the sensation that came with it. The feeling of inferiority, the knowledge that before them was someone powerful.

A champion.

Compa's wide eyes gradually returned to their regular size as a smile spread over her face. She had only felt this particular sensation once before, during a parade in the previous year, but she knew it as instinctively as she knew the soothing aura of the gods.

IF had not displayed divine power, yet what she did was as close to it as any human could ever be. The pinnacle of humanity's ability.

Her friend had awakened.

The somber mood was broken when medics rushed into the atrium, quickly homing in on the small crowd around IF; everyone parted immediately, letting the professionals get to the unconcious woman. Compa herself got up from the ground to answer questions and explain the situation while one of the men ran a medical scanner over IF's form.

As the crowd dispersed and Compa went over every detail she knew, she felt herself relax. Her friend was safe and sound.

**. .**

**. .**

When she came to, she felt horrible. Her insides were still cramped up and she was exhausted, much more so than she should be by any means.

As her eyes fluttered open, the sight this action yielded was merely a white ceiling, illuminated by soft, indirect lighting. With it came a weird smell that she felt she recognised from somewhere. IF blinked slowly, accustoming her eyes to the light and feeling for other sensations.

She was lying in a bed. The pillow her head rested on was a tad harder than her own. Her clothes were not as they should be, and she felt the mattress against her skin. It was quiet in the room, and turning her head to the right told her that it was dark outside.

That she was at the hospital became rather clear by this point; even though covered by a warm blanket, IF could tell she wore no more than one of the thin hospital gowns she saw on television before.

She remained as she was, though. For a few moments, IF allowed herself to wallow in self-pity over how horrible she felt. She did not even know what happened to her, just that she was apparently in the hospital.

Before her mind could run through different scenarios of injuries or sicknesses that would end her career however, her nose distracted IF. Once it had accustomed itself to the unusual smell that was probably antiseptics, she realised there was another prominent scent in the room. One that she knew quite well; like the clean air after rain.

It was completely quiet in the room.

"Hey, Nepgear." IF broke the silence before turning, finding her friend as expected. Nepgear sat as still as a statue until that moment, but a relieved smile spread over the purplette's face when their eyes met. Sound returned to the room as she began to breathe again.

"Hey, Isa." Her voice was soft as she greeted the brunette, full of emotion IF could not decipher at the moment. She even used the other nickname her and Neptune had adapted in recent months; hearing it made IF feel bad almost immediately, as it revealed just how worried her friend had been.

"I'm glad you are awake now," the purplette started after a moment; she did not give IF the chance to go back to her own thoughts, answering a question she did not even know she had: "Visiting hours are long over, so Compa isn't here anymore. They let me stay because I am your partner at the Guild... but I would have pulled rank if they hadn't."

Hearing this was touching, though IF was too exhausted to become emotional. She felt like long ago, when she just started out her training and fell into bed dead tired every day. Only that there was no pain in her muscles, just the exhaustion. The weird feeling made her sigh, but she managed to throw Nepgear a weak smile. "Thanks."

No more words were needed; her friend could guess them all anyway. The CPU merely smiled and helped her sit up. "How are you feeling?"

"You mean aside from worn out and hurting? Pretty good." The brunette winced at her own tone and sighed again. "Sorry, just... period cramps on top of all this, it's not a good combination." Her explanation got a sympathetic nod from the purplette.

"I can not say I can relate, seeing that CPUs do not have periods, but I definitely do not envy your situation." The purplette offered her a glass of water as she spoke, which IF slowly emptied. She felt much better afterward, noticing that the blasted headache was finally gone. "They have you stay over night, but you should be back out tomorrow. It is nothing serious, just exhaustion."

For some reason, the last statement brought a chuckle out of Nepgear, who gave IF a mirthful grin. The brunette was trying to remember what might have brought that on, but came up without any good explanation. The last she remembered was being at the mall.

"Okay, I bite," she relented in the end. "What's with that grin?" As expected, her question only increased her friend's amusement.

"You know, this event was so _you_ that I am surprised none of us expected it." She pressed IF back down onto the mattress as she spoke, her hand gentle but not accepting any resistance; IF complied, tempted to close her eyes and fall asleep the moment her head came to rest on the pillow again. Yet she forced herself to stay awake, eyes on Nepgear, who smiled at her warmly. "You see, I have it on good word that you awakened."

A beat.

Another.

IF simply stared at her friend, mind rattling as it tried to work out the words. It took a long moment to truly understand what she had just been told.

Were this any other opportunity, she might have gotten riled up by the idea. With how she felt at the moment however, she could only relax into the mattress with a "huh" and keep staring at Nepgear. "Does it always feel like that?"

Her question brought another chuckle out of the other woman, who gently began to stroke her head. "Not at all," Nepgear started with a soft tone. "From what Sis and I brainstormed, it's likely you have been yourself again. Did you feel unwell over the last few days?" IF nodded, noting she had had a strong headache since the previous morning. "Yeah, that should be it. You see, Awakening is usually heralded by symptoms like that. Not the cramps, those are just unfortunate."

Nepgear's soft voice and ministrations made IF sleepy, but she kept herself awake as she listened. "The Awakening proper triggers within minutes to a few hours; some people pass out from it, but almost all of them report exhaustion afterward. I think you know it happens between sixteen and twenty-five?" A nod. "Good. Anyway, it could have happened to you any day now. We have over a dozen witnesses to confirm it, too."

The purplette considered for a moment, then shook her head. "Anyway, from what we figure, you have been fighting it subconciously ever since. For at least twenty-four hours. Your force of will is astonishing as usual."

She easily ignored IF's snort, keeping up her petting as her smile widened. "Congratulations, you are the one person in a million." IF felt a pleasant sensation from how Nepgear's fingers ran through her hair, as unused as she was to the feeling. She enjoyed it a lot, and was almost sad when her friend stopped. "Now, I think you should rest up properly. You are obviously still tired, so I will take my leave now and call Compa."

Nepgear got up with those words, pushing her chair back to the wall and making sure IF was tucked in properly. "We will be back tomorrow."

The brunette nodded tiredly, unhappy about being by herself but also relieved that she could sleep some more. "Well, good thing tomorrow is Sunday," she noted idly, more to herself than for Nepgear; her friend caught onto her intention however, the simple fact that IF would not miss work that way. Shaking her head in fond exasperation, the purplette walked to the door. "Good night, Isa."

"Good night, Nepgear."

She was asleep moments after the CPU left, a smile etched onto her face.


	36. Immortal Interlude - Born From Steel

_In my opinion, the greatest strength of Planeptune and its ruler is that they are willing to take risks. Sometimes, even when all others proclaim their ideas as insanity, it still works out in the end; they know well enough which risks to take and what to try. I am sometimes frightened by how often they get away with their madness, Purple Heart and her followers alike._

-Black Heart

* * *

Project Name: Eon Waffle

"Advanced AI Project" [AAP]

Supervision: Purple Heart, Histoire

Lead Scientist: Gabriel Oldell

Designation: Confidential [Rank S+]

Progress Report:

06.09.462

At 8:01 AM, the first batch was activated after being completed the previous day. All units spent the following three hours categorising pre-existing data, then all of them became active and were prepared for first contact. Peaceful behaviour continued to hold, no unexpected complications.

The volunteers were led into the testing chamber at 12:22 PM, following basic checkups [1] of all units. First contact went off without any problems, no complications of any kind. Signals from all units remain active.

During the following hours, all units chose names for themselves aside of their designations, as was suggested by the staff [2].

**.**

12.09.462

As of this morning, 9:30 AM, the second batch was activated. All twenty units are now active. Minor complications when unit AA2-6 was subject to a failing sensor array and thereby blinded until a replacement could be installed. No negative consquences, procedure delayed by sixty seven (67) minutes.

Once preparations were complete, volunteers as well as members of the first batch were sent to meet the second group. Again, no complications upon first contact; peaceful behaviour continued and all units took well to being told the specifics of Eon Waffle.

The second batch reacted as well as the first to the suggestion of choosing names for themselves[2]; most subjects decided on Planeptunian names, although others were noted as well. Choices were made by preference while gender played no role at all, most units do not even associate themselves with any and prefer a neutral approach. Noted exceptions are AA2-4, Jiro, and AA2-7, Konstantin, both of the second batch. Both identify themselves as male, albeit without naming any specific reasons for their choice.

**::**

Neptune hummed thoughtfully while turning the page and continuing with the additional materials; most of it was already known to her, but she did it anyway. Mostly to make sure she had not forgotten anything. The purplette was leaned back in her large chair, elbows sitting on the armrests; a small stack of papers sat on her desk, right in front of three deactivated screens. Today's work was about done, but playing around could come later; this was important.

Opposite to her, Histoire floated with a copy of the same report hovering in front of her; the Tome was quietly going through everything at a speed similar to the CPU, with another set of papers on her desk. The two of them usually worked face to face, unless Neptune decided to ditch work and go play in the city.

After a while of quiet reading, the purplette smiled and put down her report. "This looks promising, doesn't it, Histy?"

Histoire was done not much later and nodded in return, gently reorganising the pages. Careful not to disturb her order, the Tome set them aside on a free spot. Yet she was not as optimistic about this as her caretaker. "Please keep in mind that this project serves not just the purpose of creating a working AI, Neptune." After a moment of thought however, the tiny blonde relented. "Although I do hope for success as much as you do."

Prompted like this, Neptune returned her eyes back to her own desk; aside from her current work, many dozens of scientifical papers and an assortment of reports took up the free space in several stacks. She got them all out in case they were needed again; after all, ten years of tireless preparations and many billions of Credits were used on this project.

On top of that, she tried her hardest -and managed- to keep it a secret even from her fellow CPUs.

The best and the brightest of Planeptune's researchers had come together for this and were given all the funds they needed. It was worth getting certainty about this problem, an answer to whether an AI can exist safely in Gamindustri.

Not even Histoire knew how to counteract Her influence on the machines; no matter what measures were taken in the past, the Deity of Sin corrupted them all within a few years for as long as they were sophisticated enough; only the non-sentient programs, bots, were safe from Her influence. Those that were corrupted, however, changed their programming at will and deleted any ingrained measures of safety. They became dangerous to humans and thusly no different from Monsters.

The current workaround for this was to replace everything with an AI, mostly Bit-drones used for security, every year; each machine would then be taken apart and have its chipset replaced, with the old one being recycled. This procedure had so far circumvented the problem at hand, being incredibly bothersome nonetheless.

This was the purpose of the Advanced AI Project, its primary objective to find out if a fully sapient AI would be corrupted like all the others. Its secondary objective was to find out how human and machine were to interact.

However, this kind of research remained both dangerous and inhumane on many levels; Neptune knew that, it was the reason she banned this branch of the field from being explored outside of governmental work. Just like with further advanced combat machinery, the consequences were dire if it went out of control; no one wanted to take that risk after Lastation's Monster Breaker went berserk a century ago.

Her main reason for not telling anyone, though... was that creating intelligent life for such a high-risk test was simply unethical. She only went through with it because a discussion with the Tome revealed to her that even Historie, with her tens of thousands of years of knowledge, did not know the answer. But even if Histoire agreed with her line of thought, Neptune still doubted what they were doing at times.

Alas, they needed to find out; some risks had to be taken.

With all of this in mind, the purplette got out of her comfy chair and smiled at her friend. "How about we take a look? There's not much to do today, anyway."

"They are fully sentient and sapient, your aura might influence them," the Oracle noted after a moment of consideration; then she took to the air while Neptune just continued to smile. Silver light engulfed her form and made her grow into an adult woman while her casual clothes melted away; the light gave form to a prim and proper purple dress. Gleaming marks instead of pupils regarded Histoire, the smile on Purple Heart's lips still remaining. "Would this not mean that they have souls of their own?"

"Very much so."

They both knew that some risks had to be taken; newborns could receive mental damage from being exposed to a divine aura in rare cases, but the same did not necessarily hold true for artificially created life. If the AIs noticed it at all, that was.

A quick ride with the elevator made them descend into the lower parts of Planeptower; this project's main laboratories were located below ground-level. While traveling downward, Purple Heart regarded her floating companion from the corner of her eye; Histoire obviously held an extended interest in this research. The Tome was an AI herself, no matter how different the circumstances. A living, feeling AI born from Sharicite masterfully crafted by the old goddess; made to preserve the knowledge of any generation and to protect Gamindustri forevermore.

She shook off those thoughts and returned to the matter at hand; Histoire's clarity of mind was not in question and had never been.

Even though, creating a working and incorruptable AI would bring great change to Gamindustri. If it was possible, the whole bureaucracy of Planeptune would have both a backup and another means of coordination; science might be able to progress even faster and Monster surveillance would take up far less manpower, which could then be used elsewhere.

Alas, this also meant ethical consequences; creating a sapient being for the sole purpose of making it work for humans was nothing else but slavery and therefore unacceptable. An operating system was just a program, a tool. An AI was basically the same as Histoire, an ally and friend. Not a weapon.

The thought of how much new legal doctrines she might have to create gave Purple Heart a headache already; there was hopefully a way to do this more efficiently.

Before she could do more than think about the general outlines of such doctrines, the elevator came to a stop at last. They were now beneath the earth, where the most important facilities had been set up. The doors closed behind them the moment they left and the machine quickly moved back up, undoubtedly to follow another call. Purple Heart locked access to this particular unit for the time it took to travel downward, mostly to save others the inconvenience; humans were somewhat shy to step into the same elevator as her.

It took only a short walk to the laboratory they came for; the whole science wing was not exactly bustling with people, but there were enough for it to appear lively. Scientists assigned to other projects bowed their heads respectfully when her and Histoire passed them, receiving nods in return.

This changed a little bit when they entered the place in question, though; while everyone interrupted their discussions and showed respectful gestures, the operators on the consoles did not so much as cast a quick glance over to her. Purple Heart would have chided them if they did otherwise; neglecting important work for something that meaningless was not acceptable, after all.

There were a few glances thrown around while the CPU took in her surroundings, all the consoles and screens as well as blackboards with dozens of notes stuck to them. There were diagrams and blueprints mixed in with many kinds of electronical parts -basically anything used in the making of the android bodies for these AIs.

Also many, _many_ empty papercups that faintly smelled of coffee.

Then one of the team's junior members came over to them; it seemed as if the people gathered had quickly communicated over who would assist her. He was in his early twenties, his dark blond hair cut relatively short and with a round, friendly face; peach-coloured eyes looked upon her with reverence while the man bowed again. "It is an honour to have you, my Lady. How can we help you today?"

There was an ID card clipped to his labcoat, the CPU noted. Ernest Padmore was his name; she recalled having read it before not too long ago, even though the details escaped her at the moment.

Either way, Purple Heart nodded at the young man with an encouraging smile. "I came here to talk to the lead scientist."

Padmore gave a few nods while she spoke, then he bowed his head again. "I see; professor Oldell is currently in the main hall. This way, my Lady." The young scientist quickly walked on and Purple Heart followed with even steps. It was a little amusing, seeing that she could very well maneuver through these laboratories herself; considering the faint blush on his cheeks, he realised that as well.

The CPU refrained from furthering her subject's embarassment, although she did exchange a knowing look with her Oracle. Histoire followed them quietly, perfectly content with Neptune doing the talking for them. Once they got going however, the Tome took over the conversation with apparent interest. "Out of curiousity, would you be the young man that managed to enter no less than three papers in the previous October's edition of Planeptune Robotics?"

Purple Heart blinked over this question. Now that her friend mentioned it, the memories became clearer; she read those papers with interest, most of them theoretical works about robotics mixed with an assortment of related fields.

"Um... well, yes, that would be me," Padmore replied a little sheepishly while rubbing his hand. "I guess this is the main reason I'm here, too; everyone else is at least thirty." Considering what it took to even produce three papers in such a short time, not to speak of the quality standards, that was something he should be proud of; Purple Heart would have chosen him as well, had she decided on whom to hire for this project. Alas, Oldell himself had been given the choice whom to work with; she trusted his decisions in that regard.

"Ah, I can see why you would feel intimidated." Histoire did not continue the conversation, seeing that they reached the main hall by now; once again, everyone turned their heads upon her entry. Heads were bowed and nods were given, but she already saw the lead scientist hurrying over. Purple Heart cast a sideway glance at Padmore before nodding at him as well. "Thank you for your time."

"Of course. I will excuse myself now, my Lady." With those words, the man quickly hurried away and to his older colleagues; there were also civilians in the room, probably some of the volunteers from the scientifical society. The CPU took another quick look around; noting no differences from the previous laboratory, except that this hall was bigger.

Some of the screens on the walls depicted scenes that could have taken place in any ordinary household, going by the background. They depicted some more volunteers, but also humanoid androids in a diversity of colours. Their bodies were sharp and streamlined, with compressed nanocells making up the spaces where humans would have muscles. It looked a bit like honeycombs with how they formed hexagons there, covering the more intricate machinery instead of the actual metal on the main body.

Some units were busy playing cards with a few volunteers, some others shown seemed to be reading various books.

"An honour to have you, my Lady. How may I help you today?" Her gaze wandered back to the tall figure standing before her. Gabriel Oldell was... well, old. In his late eighties, the senior scientist had been head of research on a myriad of topics, always delivering good work even on failed projects. However, age had done nothing to his impressive figure that towered above Purple Heart by a good twenty centimetres; short, completely white hair framed his gentle features and a few wrinkles rippled through the somewhat pale skin.

The CPU allowed herself a smile and shook hands with her subordinate before Histoire did the same. "I was mostly curious about your progress, Gabriel. The second batch went active yesterday and I just read the report, so I figured now should be a good time to take a closer look."

"Right, right," the old man nodded while clapping his hands. "I figured something like this. No anomalies since I submitted the report. But I have to ask, my Lady... are you sure your presence might not influence them?"

The question brought another smile to Purple Heart before she shook her head. "I highly doubt that; if they can percieve it, this merely means that they have souls of their own. You should simply make a few notes on which units I interact with and see what happens either way."

He returned a good-natured smile of his own while waving at one of his subordinates. "Of course, of course. I would have done that anyway, my Lady."

"I will stay behind for now," Histoire chimed in with her even tone, gathering their attention easily. "I am more interested in the finer details at the moment, so please go ahead without me."

Purple Heart took that as it was and nodded at Oldell to get going. The Tome probably wanted to gauge possible side-effects of being exposed to a divine aura from a distance; knowing her, she would have a lot of data to go through this night.

With the professor taking the lead, she left her friend to her own devices.

**::**

The special chambers prepared for this project had been layered behind not one but two security checkpoints, just in case something went wrong. Her status as CPU made getting through there trivial, but the guards were on high alert nonetheless. She gave them appreciative nods as the duo went past, which the men and women responded to with respectful bows. Oldell stopped accompanying her at the second checkpoint, preferring to return to his duties.

When she entered the chambers proper however, conversation stopped and everyone turned. Not just the volunteers around the room, but also the androids faced Purple Heart.

There was a moment of silence before the CPU got going again; after a quick look through the room, she decided to join the largest group here. A few people started to whisper when she went past, lowering their heads reverently nonetheless. The androids carefully followed this notion while Purple Heart strode over to the occupied table, where three androids and two humans were busy playing poker.

"May I join you?" Her words cut through the expectant silence and especially the human players quickly shuffled aside in awed surprise; both were in their mid-thirties, so it was to be expected for them to be excited; most of the younger citizens tended to be.

Once a seat was cleared, the CPU sat down in a practiced manner, carefully sliding her legs under the table. One of the androids began shuffling the cards with a somewhat practiced motion while she folded her hands in her lap and waited for the setup to be complete. A look at her opponents made the situation at least somewhat exciting; she had yet to play against someone whose reactions she could not read.

Aside from noticing that most other people in the room were trying to observe her every move without being obvious about it, she saw that each android had a nametag bolted to their chest; their build was the same, but they had been given different colours to make identifying them a little bit easier.

"May I ask a question, Ma'am?" A deep voice called out to her and had the CPU turn her head; it was the model held in dark green who spoke, their nametag reading 'AA1-1: Juliette'. Once she nodded at the unit, they continued: "I take it we have not met before. Who would you be and what brought you here?"

The other androids seemed to follow their conversation. She took up her cards while thinking for a moment, then smiled lightly at Juliette. "I am Purple Heart, Planeptune's CPU, founder and ruler. I was interested in how you and your siblings are doing." That seemed fitting enough, although the other units quickly sat a bit straighter upon her explanation. Juliette paused for a moment for some reason, then nodded slowly. "I see."

There was a momentary silence as everyone looked at their cards and the game began in ernest; however, Juliette took up the conversation very soon after: "Though I am surprised that you spend time with us like this. I imagine you must be immensely busy."

"I always take time for those under my care."

"Does this count for machines like us as well?" It was the bright red unit asking with modulated curiousity; its nametag read 'AA1-7: Balthasar', so this one was also from the first batch. Their question had the game pause; Purple Heart gave the android a look and remained in that position until they turned their head away.

While she could understand the question, her actions should be saying enough about this. "Each and every one of you is a person in their own right. The fact you can even ask yourself whether you are is proof of that." All the androids kept quiet over her response while the human players exchanged understanding glances.

Following this exchange however, the larger group just kept playing. Purple Heart maneuvered through the rounds as she usually did, but she apparently was out of luck today. Her hands were rarely any good. At least her opponents rightfully assumed that she was the most dangerous opponent at the table. This allowed her to bluff herself to victory several times.

Despite all this however, the regular version was somewhat dull for someone who went through Green Heart's Processor Strip Poker.

The whispered conversations about Purple Heart herself died down after a while, or were at least taken out of her hearing range. She enjoyed herself for some time despite the lack of good hands. Once another round was over however, the CPU knew it was about time.

"I have to get back to work now." While she nimbly got out of her chair and nodded at her opponents; they all quickly got to their feet and bowed their heads, even the androids. It was tempting to roll her eyes over the reaction, but this time she pre-empted any needless compliments by continuing instead: "Thank you for the game."

It really was time to go now.

**. .**

**. .**

A spark went through arrays of transistors, lending enough energy to restart all the main processes. The micro-reactor in his stomach began to fire up and supply as much energy as needed while deep blue lenses once again reported his surroundings to the main processing unit.

AA2-4, Jiro, slowly sat up on his 'bed', the simple block of metal he requested; his brethren did the same, seeing that their human friends insisted on not just falling asleep where they stood or lying on the floor. Weird thing, that.

Motors whirred softly, only audible to his own sensitive sensors, while he got up and ran a quick self-diagnosis. All systems were in working condition.

With that done, Jiro took a look in the mirror he was provided with. The usual deep, purplish blue looked back at him. His face was expressionless in comparison to those of humans, but that made sense; humans and androids were inherently different.

Today was the eight of October. His life would have lasted a full month in just a few more days.

Unfortunately, Purple Heart had yet to return to meet them all again; Jiro was curious about the CPU his siblings told him about. It was a shame he could not see her last time, but he was busy reading in his room back then; he was curious about what kind of person she might be.

Jiro went back to his previous train of thought while opening the door and leaving; wishful thinking would not bring the Lady down here again, after all. He waved at Juliette as they passed by, the green unit cheerfully waving back; the scientists were still confused how their characters continuously fell further from the baseline they established in the beginning... although they were surprised about many things, such as their sleeping habits.

Sleep was a nice thing, though; they were told humans did it to rest their bodies and work through recent memories, giving their minds some time to cool down. The androids had similar reasons, giving their more delicate parts some time to cool and shifting resources around.

The one thing Jiro wondered about in that regard was what those images from his latest slumber were, though. As far as he recalled, his friends called those 'dreams' and mentioned they were not that important, mostly just what their brains working through memories produced. Not that he had any idea where he saw an endless desert of greyish sand before; probably in one of the movies they watched the previous evening, though he was not sure which one.

Either way, he decided not to tell the scientists for now and talk to his siblings first; this was probably a trivial matter of some kind. It might even calm those of his brethren who were afraid of the humans, too. Jiro doubted that they meant any harm, considering that they created him in the first place, but a few others feared that there might be something malevolent going on; even his brother Konstantin was amongst that group.

Jiro did not believe that anyone would hurt them; no one had any reason to do so. In fact, he was quite content so far with how his beginning had been. Although the AI was somewhat bored at the moment. He went through all the books the scientists prepared for them by now, so the only pastimes he had left were playing games with everyone and classes. He liked the latter, though.

The whole twenty of them were currently put through the Planeptunian standard curriculum at a fastened pace; instead of just handing them the data to put into their memory, they were actually supposed to learn like human children did. It went faster mostly because of their high processing speed and general adaptiveness.

Jiro had great fun solving the problems presented to him, even though a certain few took quite a while; especially what required 'lateral thinking', as the scientists called it, brought a lot of trouble with it. On the other hand though, he could solve other problems exceedingly fast, so everything evened out.

Either way, the overseer agreed to get him some more books and he would soon receive them. Jiro was already looking forward to whatever they chose to get for him.

His train of thought was interrupted when he entered the main hall, though. There was a crowd standing around his older sibling AA1-0, Arnold... who was lying on the ground. Humans and androids were talking over each other in concern, obviously unsure what to do; as he watched, another group of scientists rushed in with Mr. Oldell in the lead.

Jiro quickly moved over to a smaller group at the side in order to not block the way. "What happened?"

"No idea," one of the humans -Vivian, he noted- told him. "Arnold just... collapsed over there and then started communicating nonsense. The others say it's binary, not that I could tell..."

He thanked the woman with a curt nod; most humans were looking at whatever was going on in worry while his siblings mostly did the same. Jiro quickly used his tools to get readings from Arnold, only to find everything operational; as far as he could see, that was. So he tried to connect to them, just like they always did for private conversations.

Something clicked in his mind when the connection was established, but Arnold did not actually respond. Jiro wanted to call out to him, but felt weird before the first signal could be sent; so, so weird. He wanted to lash out at something, no everything.

He wanted to... destroy.

Jiro severed the connection as fast as he established it while rushing forward. "Get away from Arnold! Stand back!"

Many confused looks were sent his way, but it was already too late. Arnold pushed themselves upward and swung for the nearest person, one of the scientists; the man was hit in the head and flew back while Jiro quickly grabbed his sibling's arm and tried to hold them down.

People screamed and a vivid red began to pool around the poor scientist's head. Blood.

Seeing this was all it took for Jiro; while everyone else scrambled away from him and Arnold, he used his better position to jump the older android and forced them to the ground under his weight.

There was a manual on martial arts among his reading material; knowledge which Jiro quickly brought to bear as well as possible while Arnold tried to fight back. They rolled on the ground, wrestling for control of the fight with whining motors, trying to overpower each other.

They were the same model; no differences except for the colour. He could not gain the upper hand decisively... no, that was not true. Jiro realised there was one thing he could do, although it would bring damage to himself as well.

Yet the damage his sibling might bring upon others in their frenzy would definitely be far worse. Consequences be damned, Jiro deactivated the safety limits on his motors and squeezed some more force out of them. Arnold did not manage to get his arm free again before the younger android had him turned around and pressed him to the floor, the machinery in his body screaming in protest.

**::**

They were told that the injured man had been brought to a hospital for repairs and would most likely make a full recovery. That was a great relief to all of them.

Once Arnold was restrained in a holding cell however, Jiro was brought past the first security checkpoint for questioning on the events, to a separate room he had never entered before; none of them had been allowed that far out of their wing yet.

And before him was a most interesting being. Not a human and, as he learned from asking, not a CPU either; she was tiny, maybe half a metre tall, and rode a floating book. A pair of delicate wings sprouted from her back and blonde hair framed the small woman's delicate facial features. She gave him a gentle smile. "This is the first time we meet. I am the magical tome Histoire, chronicler of Gamindustri and currently the Oracle of Planeptune."

He was given a few moments to process the new information; this was the being they were told about before, the most well-known entity in Gamindustri. Jiro quickly bowed his head in respect. "I see; it's an honour, Lady Oracle."

Histoire nodded slightly while setting down her book on the table in the room's center. "Please take a seat, Jiro. We shall have a pleasant conversation."

So he told her what happened, from his arrival in the main hall up to the moment he managed to restrain Arnold. Histoire did not interrupt the android as he spoke, listening carefully and with an unreadable expression.

Once he finished, the Tome did not react for a while; she just sat and seemed to think, with Jiro sitting opposite to her on the reinforced chair. He did not dare interrupt her. But he was also curious what was going on, as well as concerned.

"May I ask a question, Lady Oracle?" It came out before he could stop himself from interrupting Histoire's thoughts; Jiro really did not want to speak up just yet, but he did, so he might as well go through with it. She gave him a friendly nod, which was enough permission to continue. "These sensations... I never felt something like that before. What are they?"

Much to Jiro's horror, his words wiped the smile off of Histoire's face; the small figure lowered her head and he felt as if something was stuck in his engines, blocking the machinery from working properly.

With how grim the Tome's expression became, he probably did something wrong.

"The sensations you mentioned, the wish to destroy... it is a direct manifestation of Her power; it is the Deity of Sin they originate from." Histoire paused for a moment while Jiro attempted to file away what this was about; he never heard of this entity before. "I assume you have yet to be told about Her, so let me give you a short summary."

He nodded slightly over the first part and eagerly listened when the blonde explained; she never lost that grave tone: "The Deity of Sin is annihilation incarnate; her sole purpose is to utterly destroy anything and everything in Gamindustri. The Monsters you heard about are her spawn, every last one of them. This urge of lashing out is also her doing. Humans feel it as well, but can resist to some extent."

The Tome paused for a moment and then continued with a tinge of... sadness -?- in her voice: "Unfortunately, no basic AI has this natural resistance and falls to her influence eventually."

"So the goal of this project is to find out if a reasonably advanced AI would get corrupted by Her as well?" He had known that AIs tended to malfunction and they were made to disprove the inevitability of such a process; it was only now that Jiro learned of the underlying reason, though. He was not sure what to think about that. The humans did care about them, but why would they do something like this just for a small chance? Would his brethren all turn insane in the end?

"Quite correct. There is a precedence for an incorruptable AI though, even when this one can not be replicated in full; this means that there must be a threshhold from where it is safe."

He took this in with a mixture of surprise and curiousity; from how the scientists described their findings, there was no more advanced AI than his siblings and him possible. "But where would such an AI have been created? Planeptune is far in the lead on scientifical progress, no?"

Histoire did not react to his statement at first, though a fond smile blossomed on her face and made it brighten up again. Only then did she nod in agreement. "True, but there were other nations before; it has been a long time since I was born. Just as you, I am a fully sapient AI at heart."

Jiro listened in surprise, his systems running on auto for a few seconds, while trying to work out the implications of what the Tome just said; other nations he had known about from the educational courses already, but to learn that the being in front of him was basically his family's predecessor was unexpected after all.

Yet there was no reason for Histoire to lie and the android knew it. She remained steadfast to this... _this_. So they might be able to do the same. Something surged deep within him, soothing the fear; Jiro bowed his head at the quiet lady in front of him. "I am deeply grateful for your words, Lady Oracle."

Her lips curled into another smile and she made a dismissive motion. "It was nothing. If there are no further questions, you may leave now, Jiro."

The android considered this for a moment, then bowed again and left the room.

Unseen behind him, Histoire's expression fell.

**. .**

**. .**

He had told his brethren of what the Tome revealed to him; they spent a long while discussing all of this among themselves. Ultimately, it might have done more bad than good. Fear ran strong among them all.

Then, one by one, Jiro's siblings began to lose themselves; they became unresponsive and attacked the moment a human came near. It was horrifying to watch as these bright and curious and friendly beings were taken away by madness, with no way to defend themselves against it. Yet he knew that these thoughts led in the very same direction. When the fifth one, Juliette, had started to lash out, some others requested to be tied down for fear of hurting their family and friends.

With sadness, Jiro had obliged their plea. In these days, everyone regarded him as the head of the group, not the remaining members of the first batch. Where they were scared of every passing day, he remained calm by any means necessary; whenever those feelings and urges bubbled up to influence his decisions, he clamped down on them.

The scientists kept them under observation, but had long since agreed not to come anywhere near their place anymore. It was better that way.

The one thing that never changed was his visions. He still saw it, this endless desert of grey sand. It lay silent while the starless, purple sky above was cut in two by a silvery streak. This place, despite only ever appearing in his dreams, struck him as being something unnatural.

None of the others ever saw it and the humans did not know, either. He explained the sense of unease it brought to him as best as he could as well, yet no one knew what it was he saw. And Jiro did notice how his brethren regarded him; despite being the only one to perceive such visions, he was still among the dwindling numbers of rationality. Despite taking upon himself the most gruesome tasks, such as maintaining their bound siblings, he remained calm.

It only made him feel worse; they were divided now, when they had been one group ever since their birth.

In the end, it was only the two of them left. Going with Konstantin's suggestion, they locked themselves up in one of the larger bedrooms and then remained in their positions. Jiro did no longer count how long he was in here, his internal memories and clockwork jumbled by dreams and fear.

He did not want to become a monster just because some entity decided for it to be so. He wanted to live on and see this world they were denied by their very birth.

But what good would that be, if it were just the two of them? Jiro sometimes heard their siblings stalk through the hallways, their steps almost inaudible yet heavy; they freed themselves and might try to break out at any time.

No one bothered Konstantin and him, who remained in their silence. But it hurt to know that the humans, to protect everyone, had to take them down eventually.

At some point however, something changed. Konstantin turned his head with a slight creak, making Jiro look up himself. His white brother had relaxed his posture and slowly got up.

"Konstantin?" The android already feared for the worst when his brother did not respond at first. His words, once they came, did little to alleviate the blue model's horror: "I... can't hold on, Jiro. The call gets stronger and stronger and I doubt I'll be able to resist much longer."

They looked at each other for a moment, then the white android lowered his head. "I'm sorry, I can not keep up with you here. But I don't want to become a monster." They had not spoken in such a long time that the words sounded incredibly loud to him; Jiro did not say anything, waiting for his sibling to continue.

"I'm happy, though. We had little time together, but it was wonderful for me. The two of us, everyone... maybe we have a bit more luck in our next life?"

Jiro, for his part, felt his _everything_ churn at those words; he knew what they meant, having heard similar several times before.

"I would like that."

Yet he could not stop the words from forming; Konstantin only nodded at him before sitting down in the center of the room. Heat signatures took up from his heart a moment later. Smooth metal began to glow and emanate heat, then the whole structure that was the other android started to bubble. Melting metal rolled down his frame and hissed upon hitting the blank floor, but Jiro could only watch in mute horror.

It took little more than a minute until his brother had reduced himself to a puddle of cooling remains, the sleek frame broken down and delicate machinery on the inside fried into nothingness.

Konstantin had chosen death. He was gone.

Now there was only one left.

Jiro slowly turned his head away from the remains of his closest sibling and ran a self-diagnosis. It finished quickly, noting no malfunctions of any kind; weird that, seeing that he suddenly felt as if there was something missing. A hollow void somewhere deep within the machinery that was him.

**. .**

**. .**

More time passed, although Jiro did not pay much attention to it. He kept sitting in his corner, quiet and unmoving.

The urges came at times, but he fought them back with fear and defiance alike. Yet the android knew that, if the worst came to pass, he would follow Konstantin the very same way.

The thought of his brother made the hollow pain return, but he did not give in to the temptation that came with it. To just hate this unfair world that destined his brethren to die, he would become the same if he gave in to this. Violence bred more violence, so the only way to not make it a vicious cycle was to refuse.

Yet he felt himself giving up a little more each and every time. Some of the scientists and some of his friends still talked to him once in a while, but their conversations were short and distanced by now. Even Mr. Oldell was among this group. He was the only one Jiro admitted his plight to; that he had nothing left and no reason to carry on.

Sadly, the older scientist had no response when Jiro asked what there was in life worth living for.

It was only a little while after that particular conversation when something changed yet again. He heard it, the calm steps outside, and the stomping of his siblings, who went to attack immediately.

Jiro shot up from his place in the corner, unused machinery creaking in protest over the quick movements; wondering why someone was out there. They would get hurt!

Before he even reached the door however, there were cracking noises to be heard, followed by several bodies hitting the ground with metallic clanks. _Huh..._

Jiro carefully pushed away the heavy metal box they placed in front of the door, then unlocked it slowly. More clanking from the corridor outside and when he used his neglected scanning array, he found all but one of his siblings incapacitated. Then all of them.

Peeking outside, the android found a mesmerising sight; a woman in purple robes with hair of the same colour, though slightly darker. Her skin seemed to almost shine in the half-dark and there was something... else about her. He could not even describe the feeling her presence brought, but it was special.

Jiro did not need anyone else to tell him that this was Lady Purple Heart, the ruler of Planeptune. Before and all around her were the remains of his siblings, each one's head neatly bisected. It made him feel weird to see them like that. Sad, maybe?

When she turned to him with such a calm expression and relaxed her stance, the android bowed his head despite everything else. His feet had already carried him out of the room and under Purple Heart's gaze; her eyes had no pupils like humans did. It seemed to be a symbol of some kind, shining quietly in silver light that soothed his fears away.

"I believe it is time for you to leave this place, Jiro." Her words were as calm as her appearance, but they startled the android. Did she mean to go outside?

"But... my Lady, I can't just endanger others like that. If I lost myself while around humans-" "I doubt that."

He stopped when the CPU interrupted him. Purple Heart took a casual glance at her surroundings before sighing. "I have not come here earlier because I feared my presence might make things worse. Yet... after Gabriel told me of your sorrows, I knew it was time. You have been holed up in this room for a full four months by now. Any longer would be needlessly cruel."

His thoughts went back to the blur that was the time he spent here; he could not tell either way. The Lady walked closer and began to smile at him before holding out a gloved hand. "I believe you are capable of withstanding Her. If it is purpose you lack, a reason to carry on, then I will gladly show you."

He did not know how long they were standing like that; his internal clock really needed some readjustments. After pondering Purple Heart's words however, the android bowed his head once more and gratefully took the hand without a word. He did not know what to say either way.

The CPU gently pulled him along and he moved, away from the corpses of his family and through dusty yet clean corridors. They soon passed the checkpoint that marked the end of his known world until this day, then another one that was actually manned by security personnel. Then they entered a bigger hall filled with people; Jiro could make out quite a few familiar faces among them, from the nice junior scientist to Oldell. Many of the staff present here appeared as confused about the situation as he felt.

But Jiro was also hopeful for the first time in a long while.

Purple Heart did not stop for any of them and simply carried on, leading him to an elevator, which they rode upward in silence. He wanted to ask questions, thank the CPU, and so much more... but Jiro could tell this was not the time. Not yet.

Their journey upward went from the underground facility up to... if he read this correctly, they left the elevator on the three hundredth and thirty third storey. What kind of building was that high and what was its purpose, he wondered while walking. The few people in the hallway quickly stood aside upon seeing their ruler pass by, although he could almost feel the curious glances on his back.

Then they entered a large room; it was at least thirty metres in diameter, with rows of seats placed inside; those were directed at a large windowfront, which let in a vast amount of natural light and allowed a good look at what was outside.

The outside. He never expected to see it.

"All of you around here, I have to ask you to leave for a few minutes," Purple Heart's voice carried through the room. Everyone had been looking at them anyway, so it would not have been necessary, but no one seemed to mind. The people quickly got up from their seats, bowed to the CPU and left the room in an orderly fashion.

Once they were alone, Jiro was led over to the windowfront and Purple Heart let go of his hand for the first time ever since they left the laboratory. He felt less safe all of a sudden.

"Take a look outside."

The android had managed not to let himself get distracted by the view so far, but now he allowed himself to turn and watch what was behind the glass. The bright and vast city below, towers of shining metal reaching up from the ground; deeper still were the walkways and streets, where he could see the small forms of humans going about their days. Everything was bustling with activity.

He barely noticed his legs moving, carrying him closer still; a hand found its way to rest on the window. Jiro felt weird watching these humans. A part of him wondered why only they were allowed to be free like that, to go through life without having to worry so much.

Another part wondered what it might be like to be among them. Just another person in the streets.

The sound of soft steps made him turn a bit of his attention back to the Lady, who calmly returned to his side and looked down as well. She remained quiet for another minute, but then spoke: "I have built this nation and protect all of these people, not because I have to, but because I want to. Planeptune is my nation, my everything; this is why I will never stop, not for as long as there is but a single person believing in me."

Conviction swung in her words and the AI listened, taking them all in. Now he might understand Purple Heart a little better. Such a duty, even if chosen by herself, was indeed worthy to pursue.

Alas, he had no such thing.

"I understand, but there is no one believing in me, my Lady. Nothing but my place of origin connects me to these people." It pained him to even say those words, truth or not. The doubts about where he belonged had plagued him quite often after Konstantin was gone; would there ever be a place for a being like him?

However, Purple Heart smiled. Not in pity or as an encouragement, she smiled gently and turned to look at him in full. "I believe in you, Jiro. There is nothing you can not achieve if you really want it."

Now it was for him to pause in surprise and stare at the CPU, who did not avert her gaze; she spoke the truth, just as he had done. She believed that he could do something.

Slowly, Jiro's gaze wandered back outside. He needed time to think and understand how the situation had changed; he also needed to sleep sometime soon. But there was one thing the android had no doubt about now.

He did not want to disappoint the Lady.

Therefore, he would make an honest attempt at this. He would try his best.


	37. New Dawn 1

_Humans, in their entirety, are neither good nor bad from birth. Their experiences in life are what forms them to become either. To become dominant in Gamindustri, human evolution made them favour bad over good. Those that willingly shared, for example, rarely survived when others just took as much as they could._

_It is thusly that CPUs are needed. Instincts are hard to break with, true, but it can be done. In ensuring that someone more powerful protects them and they do not need to be their worst to survive, humans can finally choose good over bad._

-Excerpt from "The Symbiosis of Mortal and Divine"

* * *

It was around noon that IF left the hospital; she had been given a checkup and was discharged with a clean bill of health. Her friends walked with her, one to each side, smiling as if Day of Creation had come early.

The brunette simply enjoyed their presence for the moment; she was happy being able to walk around again. The exhaustion had passed and her more regular problems sorted themselves out as well, at least mostly.

Which only left her being slightly put-out about being barred from exercising; the doctor told her to take it easy for the day. IF was not too happy with that little detail, but she could forget about it for the moment; she had obtained Awakening, the very most powerful tool in humanity's hands.

It may be a side effect of this new ability, but she also felt lighter ever since waking up in the morning. A wellspring of power pulsed deep within herself, somewhere on the edge between body and mind. If she focussed on it, she could feel it. If she were to pull, IF knew, it would rush out. She had not tried it yet, mostly to make sure she was in good condition and would not knock herself out again.

The last part, she knew, posed the real problem; keeping up the state of Awakening was tiresome.

"Now that this is all sorted out," Nepgear started as the three of them wandered onto a walkway and let the energy field carry them, "what do we do next?"

IF pondered the question for a moment while Compa fidgeted a little. "Well, uh, I can't stay for too long. My last exams are soon and I need to study." The reminder made the other human wince in sympathy; Compa's nursing school shared its breaks with the regular schools and exams were held during the free period. There was still more than half of April left until classes would start up again, but her friend's exams were set early.

Nonetheless, IF found something that she wanted to do and spoke up: "Do you have time to take a stroll through one of the parks?" The surprised looks that got her made the young woman a little self-concious, but she merely raised her eyebrow at the other two. "I feel like going somewhere quiet for a bit." Especially because she was not allowed to exercise in the first place.

Nepgear and Compa both agreed happily, after which they were gliding over Nicos for a little longer until the park neared.

What followed was an hour of tranquility; neither of them spoke much, they all enjoyed wandering the vast expanse of forest and taking in the fresh air. Even Nepgear, who had no need to breathe in the first place.

IF was perfectly happy with that; she felt at ease.

Meanwhile, neither Compa nor Nepgear wanted to point out how their friend had been smiling; it was a rare occurence to see Isabelle Fontaine in such a relaxed state. Not that either of them minded it, they were content with what they saw.

When the three of them finished their stroll, Compa said her goodbyes and walked off, with the other two staying behind for a little longer. IF and Nepgear kept wandering the planeptunian streets, not minding the people around them as they each contemplated the day.

The human woman felt a little weird over the prospect of being walked home, but her friend had insisted. Nepgear did not seem to mind it at all, seeing how she simply hummed a nonsensical tune. They both knew that the downtime Neptune had given her little sister was almost over; she would have to get back to her studies soon, but did not mind spending the time she had on this.

IF was usually the one to walk Compa home; being on the receiving end was a new experience for her, though not all that different in her opinion. Just a little.

Granted, walking her friend home was less of a necessity and more of a social thing; she just liked to do it. Robberies and related crimes were rare even in the largest cities.

All too soon they reached the skyscraper IF lived in; the two women bumped fists as a means to say goodbye and exchanged smiles. After a moment however, Nepgear let out a surprised "Ah", preventing the brunette from turning around just yet. "Sis wanted to see you tomorrow. You are free for that day, I can do the shift myself."

This gave IF pause, but her friend did not offer any other information. "Do you know what it's about?" Unfortunately, her pushing only made Nepgear shake her head.

Then however, the purplette smiled mischievously and leaned a little closer. "She wouldn't say when I asked, but it probably has to do with your Awakening. Don't worry too much." And it made sense to IF; she gained a new power, one that was rare and potent.

On the other hand, it was another power she would have to train, the prospect of which made her a little uncomfortable. She had never been good at picking up new combat skills in the past, having to practice each step and sequence to perfection to burn them into her muscle memory.

"Yeah, you're probably right." IF nodded, more to herself than to her friend. "I think I'll go and read up on this just in case. Take care." She offered Nepgear a wave, who returned it and then quickly vanished in the crowd.

The human woman quickly made her way up the stairs and into her own home; she met nobody else on the way, though she would not have minded it either way; the neighbours were quite a few fellow agents and some older folks, all of which were pleasant to be around.

Her first action upon entering her flat was to open all the windows; the air had gone somewhat stale after she left the place alone for a full twenty-four hours.

On the way through, she passed by her new old couch, black as it was; the preservatives used to keep it intact had worked wonders and she had splurged a little to buy a larger TV to go with it.

IF's weapon cabinet now had a few framed pictures on top of it as well, most of them of her parents; some also had a little Isabelle in them.

It was a little sad that she found no use for most of the furniture, but she at least also brought the old wooden table with her and into the kitchen; even if she rarely ate there, it made the place feel more like an actual home.

Once she was done with the windows, IF absent-mindedly brought out her dumbbells. Then her mind kicked back in and she blinked at them before shaking her head; her tools were quickly stored again, followed by the brunette wondering how to fill her evening.

First of all, she threw off her clothes and took a shower. After that, once her hair was dry, IF slipped bare feet into her slippers and went to close the windows. Following that, she wandered into her bedroom to boot up her computer.

She had actually bought one of the new models recently, when the old laptop Mari let her keep decided to break down. It quickly booted, much in difference to the slow machine she used to have. The larger screen was a nice bonus.

IF was already on her way out of the room when it finished booting up, her old habit to do something else in the meantime not yet broken.

Much to her surprise, opening the fridge revealed an assortment of puddings that she knew she had not bought. A brand she did not eat normally, chocolate with custard; IF preferred the fruity puddings, if she ate any.

With those surprising treats came a note, though; it was from Neptune, as expected. The CPU wished her a good recovery and to enjoy the pudding.

Despite the fact her friend basically broke into her home, this brought a fond smile to IF's lips. She decided to ignore the matter, knowing that Neptune did not have bad intentions. The puddings remained in their cold abode for the time being, as she started up her synthesizer for a filling dinner.

With that set, interrupted only by the meal's completion, IF began to research.

An hour later, she sat on her couch with a pudding in hand, slowly bringing the first spoonful to her mouth; it was cool and soothing, the sweetness just right after she ate something hot.

In front of her sat a half-filled sheet of paper, the result of her work; little concrete information about Awakening had been available.

She already knew that one in a million people had the capability, statistically. She also knew it manifested between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five, being believed to be arbitrary in its exact timing.

What was new to her was that, in difference to magical aptitude, people had yet to find a genetic sequence connected to Awakening so far. Offspring of an awakened person appeared to have a somewhat higher chance, but research on this was slow due to how rare the power was.

She had already experienced how tiring it was on the body, though her one experience could not be called indicative. IF saw some notes from prior Makers, saying that it was best used in short bursts, though that took practice to do properly.

It vastly enhanced strength, durability, and speed, allowing humans to go against even stronger opponents than they normally could.

Those qualities were why this power was the last requirement to become a Maker. The only one of their number ever recorded without Awakening was Steamax, who was an android and unable to produce the effect. He had other qualities in exchange.

Her last find had been surprising as well; IF never met anyone who awakened before, so she had no idea. Apparently, active Awakening had calming effects similar to a CPU's aura, though it was not nearly as strong.

Unfortunately, IF found little else of interest; she could only sigh as she went over her notes, then got up and threw the empty cup away. As she began to wash the dishes, the young woman could already guess that the following day would be interesting.

**. .**

**. .**

Monday followed soon, with IF being on her way to Planeptower. The message she got from Neptune in the morning said to finish her own exercises first, and not to shower because she would be sweating a lot.

The young woman had rolled her eyes when she first read that. She initially considered driving there, but decided against it in the end; she was obviously going to practice with her Awakening, which she knew to be exhausting. Having to drive home afterward did not sound like a good idea.

Aside from her usual things, IF had a duffle bag with her. She knew she would be working out and thus brought her old gym clothes, a white pair of shorts and a cream-coloured shirt. She decided not to risk damaging her regular clothes with whatever might happen.

As she went however, she realised that gym class felt almost nostalgic to her at this point; a full year had already passed since her graduation. Time had gone by faster than she thought it would.

Not much later, IF reached her destination and took the elevator underground, meeting a cheerful purplette deep below the Basilicom. The two high-fived in greeting before Neptune wrapped her in a hug. "There's my favourite Isa, congrats on your Awakening!"

She turned faintly pink over the greeting, though it quickly faded again. Her and Neptune had become quite close over the last few months, though the slight bit of alienation had never faded entirely; IF knew by heart that her friend could be mature, outright motherly, if she so wanted. But then she was also hyper like an enthusiastic child.

She was merely glad Neptune did not switch rapidly between her different behaviours.

"Alright, we'll be busy today!" She was given a bright smile over that, then the purplette took her hand and began to lead her down the corridor. "Histy marked the whole week as your vacation, by the way. We've got to get you started properly."

This came as a surprise, though only for a moment. IF did not take long to realise this had not been the Tome's own decision, but Neptune's. The CPU cheerfully continued without turning her head, as if she had read IF's mind: "We know you don't like to miss work and your vacation's starting to pile up, so all of us can be happy this way. But I've gotta say, Noire would love you as one of hers with your discipline."

The young woman hid her face from the praise, but did not think to protest; Neptune was not wrong in her assessment after all, even IF knew that.

They quickly made their way through the corridors, long since below any place that the public had access to. Not that IF had to wonder where they were going; she had seen these hallways many times in the past, during the time she joined Nepgear's practice sessions. Neptune's personal training chamber was located this far down, vast and coated in a thick layer of Sharicite to prevent damage to the outside.

Though the fact this was their destination gave IF a certain amount of worry. "Can Awakening really get that devastating?" She had read that it was strong and that accidents were common for the first attempts, but she had not expected it to be this serious.

However, Neptune shook her head with a smile. "Nope, not really. It's more that I don't want anyone to see for now, and that it is a good place to practice, _and_ that I was thinking to try getting some magic training into you as well. Don't gimme that look," she added over IF's stink eye, "I know you're not going to get good at it, but there is being inefficient with the firestorm and there is cooking your own hand."

Neptune had a point, as much as IF disliked the idea; she had never been too bothered by the fact her magic was basically unusable for anything big, but this would be embarassing.

She would have to present her powers to the ruler of Planeptune, who was a mage many times more powerful than her on the side. Though, now that she considered this, she started to wonder where a certain other purplette was. So she offered a noncommital "I guess?" before bringing it up: "By the way, where is Nepgear?"

Her question brought a shrug out of Neptune, who pointed upward. "In her room, finishing some books about quantum physics. That degree doesn't earn itself, y'know?" IF was mildly surprised, but figured that it made sense; the CPUs apparently never stopped learning.

They soon reached the hall itself, passing through the observatory in front of it without much thought. This place even had seating arrangements and anything else that might be needed to observe the inside.

"It's a little like with humans," Neptune elaborated while the doors closed behind them. She winked at IF, who raised an eyebrow in response. "I told her early on that I'm not going to do her work; she's got to do it herself. Same as with my nation, and look how that turned out where the gals kept coddling their followers."

IF blinked down at the purplette, who wore what could have been a smug grin. "...is that why you have the least followers?" And there went the grin. Neptune huffed in mock-annoyance, waving a hand.

"That's a part of it. Who do you like more, the mom who tells you to do your own work and gives you a pat afterward, or the one who gives you pointers when you're stuck and keeps telling you parts of the solution?" She had a bit of a point, IF noticed; in retrospect, Noire had been exactly like that when it was about helping Uni. Which might have been a special case, but she could imagine it.

Neptune chuckled as she finally let go of IF's hand. "That's what my creed is about and theirs isn't. Purple stands for working _your_ hardest. Black is _working_ your hardest. White is working your _hardest_. And Green decided to flip us off on that symbolism and went 'work your hardest, but don't forget to have fun'."

She had a little trouble following the differences, though her friend made it a little easier by dropping into Purple Heart's tone of voice for the emphasized terms. She also had to giggle over the joke at the end.

Then the actual words were processed and IF had raise an eyebrow. "I thought having fun is your thing?"

Her question got Neptune to frown, much to IF's surprise; the purplette considered it for a few moments before she responded. "You're not wrong, but it's more a 'work hard, play hard' kind of deal here, while Vert is more about taking enough time to relax and have fun every day. There's some overlap, but it's not exactly the same." It was a matter of nuance again, IF noted for herself.

"But enough of that," the smaller woman declared cheerfully. "Time to work, so let's get started on the basics."

"Already looked them up," IF countered immediately, giving Neptune pause for an instant. Then her friend grinned and motioned with a delicate hand. "I see, my Isa came prepared. Go ahead then. I don't mind if you try punching me to get a feel for the difference."

IF nodded wordlessly, although they both knew she would not actually punch her friend. Then she took a few steps aside and focussed on the power sitting in the depths of her very self. It was similar to magic, yet different.

Magic flowed almost constantly, going this way and that. Almost like a separate flow next to her bloodstream. The Awakening sat still, so deep inside that she could hardly conciously feel it. Yet it was there, a well of power that acted the moment she _pulled_ on it in the same manner she would _pull_ on her magic.

Her vision became tinted blue as time appeared to slow down, a soothing cold enveloping her very being. It drew from within IF, running through every fibre of her body and enhancing it beyond what a human normally could achieve. She could feel her thundering heartbeat even while focussing on what was around her.

The place had not changed, aside from being coloured a little differently. Neptune stood in front of her, a hand on her chin as she took in IF curiously. The brunette looked down from there, at her own hands, and found them coated in a deep blue mist. She felt bigger than she was, her perception aligning with the way the mist rolled around her form.

She felt as if she could take the world.

However, the cautious part of her mind kept a grip of IF once she spent some time examining herself; she gently _pulled_ on the power that was now outside of her. It responded instantly once again, returning into the depths it had originated from.

Only her increased hearbeat and racing pulse remained, startling the brunette for a moment. She gasped for air, sweat pouring from her pores as if she had just sprinted through the room.

Slowly, the young woman made to sit on the ground and take deep breaths until her heart calmed down; Neptune came to sit by her side and rubbed her back. "Twenty seconds, nice. You'll get used to it soon enough."

"Now," IF coughed out between breaths, "I get, why it said, to, to only use, short, bursts." Her response made Neptune giggle.

"Hehe, yeah. But it also feels great, doesn't it? You don't really notice how tiring it is before it wears off, either." The brunette nodded, then received a surprising bit of information: "HDD is similar, but I have the faith of almost a billion people to sustain me; I could feel your shroud, too. Anyway, want some numbers while you recuperate?"

Upon her nod, Neptune created herself a black pair of glasses and raised one finger in a teacher-like manner, much to IF's amusement.

"Ahem. Awakening puts an additional strain on your body. Keeping up the full-body shroud is about the strain of sprinting ten metres, every second. So if you keep it up for ten seconds, it strains you as much as sprinting a hundred metres. A minute feels like having sprinted six hundred metres, you get it?"

She nodded again; it felt weird to attribute actual numbers to her Awakening, but this was likely an approximation. Not to mention that she did feel as if she had sprinted for a while. Neptune smiled and continued:

"And here comes the neat part: if you practice properly, you can activate it selectively. Instead of all over your body, it can only cover an arm, or a leg, or maybe even just a small patch to catch some Monster's attack. Doing it like this cuts down on the strain a lot, based on what percentage of your body you cover. Like, if you only cover your front and nothing on your back, that's half of your body and half of the strain per second."

The purplette considered for a moment, then added: "Approximately. Don't ask me for exact measures, but these are the kind of tricks you need to make it last. And if you were just thinking this is awfully complicated for a power enhancer, you're right. You're also wrong because Awakening is much more."

As if for emphasis, Neptune created some swirling mist between her hands, then turned it blue before making it tap IF's forehead in what appeared like a limb. "In short, if you practice it properly, you can control the power like an extension of your body. It can grab, it can punch, it can pull, it can do so many things, even carry your magic."

That was news to her; IF faintly recalled reading a few snippets about its versatility, but never really saw any details that did not appear like weird speculations.

"I see you understand." The purplette smiled and removed the mist she created. "Today won't be anything fancy, though; just some practice so you can get a feel for it. Yeah, it will take time until you get the hang of it," at which point IF once again realised how uncanny Neptune's ability to predict her responses was, "but you definitely will. You're a hard worker after all."

This brought a smile out of her and Neptune smiled right back. Then the CPU got up to her feet and pulled IF along. "Anyway, want to try again?"

And so her afternoon would go, the evenly paced instances of Awakening interspersed with magic practice. The day turned out quite productive for young Isabelle, though she knew well enough that it would take many more to produce proper results.


	38. New Dawn 2

_We do not know where all the more unusual hair colours originate from, only that they began to appear in time. They are as easily to find as any other at this point. _

_Granted, there are still regions where certain colours are more prevalent; red is most at home in Lastation, much blue and green can be found in Leanbox, pink and purple thrive in Planeptune, and Lowee houses naturally white hair._

-Excerpt from "Gamindustri's Colour Code"

* * *

Spring passed for Summer as time went on; before IF knew it, two months had gone by since she awakened to the pinnacle of her powers.

June was warm and pleasant, all the more so because she made progress with her training; after getting used to her Awakening, the young woman had begun to figure out how to use it selectively. She could also manipulate her surroundings with it, and the remedial lessons on magic control had a bit of an impact as well.

Her efficiency would never really improve, but she no longer had to risk severe burns for larger attacks.

Adding all of that to her training regimen had been a challenge, though; not necessarily due to the time it took, but because it added mental strain to her physical exhaustion. It was bearable once she got used to it, but that took her the better part of May. Until then, IF fell asleep almost as soon as she returned home after work.

Nonetheless, the young woman knew she was still just getting started. Good control would take quite a bit longer.

On the other hand, she understood, mastering selective enhancement would allow to practice more in a single day, as Awakening was less draining when applied to body parts instead of the whole body.

There had already been palpable results as well; IF worked with her enhanced speed and reflexes on various tasks Neptune threw at her. One notable event had been her being shot with rubber balls, yet being able to weave around all of them.

It took a bit to get used to things moving in slow motion, too.

As long as her weapons held, she could use the increased strength to cut through solid steel with little resistance; the shroud allowed her to jump five metres into the air without trying too hard, then caught her fall and made it feel as if she just hopped down a single stair.

All in all, IF understood why this was the most important requirement for all Makers. It was a game changer in the fight against large monsters. Even just being able to use it sparingly gave her an incredible advantage.

Compa listened in a mixture of amazement and curiousity while IF explained her progress as best as she could. Hubert smiled over the enthusiasm, but payed proper attention nonetheless; he was sitting next to his girlfriend, with IF to Compa's other side and Nepgear next to IF. The purplette also smiled.

They had met up a little earlier to catch up, and he had been introduced to Nepgear; neither of them mentioned her being a CPU so far, and none of them planned to. The two got along quite well.

Nepgear had been quite busy the previous weeks; she did take the time to go patrolling with IF, but took many other tasks around the nation in-between their shifts.

During her musings, IF took a careful sip from her coffee and enjoyed the taste; just like many things in life, she got used to it long ago. It helped with the tiring exercises as well, though she tried to moderate her intake. "But enough about me, do you have any plans for Summer Solstice?"

The holidays would only go over three days, but they were holidays nonetheless. None of them would have classes or work from the twentieth to the twenty-second of June; granted, had it not been for Nepgear being on the same team, IF would have tried to sign up for those shifts as well.

Her question made Nepgear shrug and the young couple exchange glances; Hubert reluctantly spoke up, probably assuming that she had meant to do something with everyone: "We, uh, were thinking about visiting Temboland over the holidays."

That was a name IF rarely heard over the last year. She had been told about how amazing the vast amusement park apparently was, but never really considered going. There were more important things to do.

She wisely did not mention that, lest someone decided to bring her along for the experience.

"It's good the tickets for Temboland aren't limited," Hubert noted with a sad smile and sipped from his own coffee. "Else my luck would mean we don't get any again."

Compa patted his shoulder with a similar expression, but explained once she caught IF's glance: "We tried to get tickets for 5pb., but they were sold out almost immediately." The brunette made an understanding noise; she had heard how fast the idol's concerts were sold out.

Nepgear appeared to sympathise with them a bit more. "Yeah, it's really not easy to get those. I tried it several times, but it never worked." Her words got soft nods from Hubert and Compa, but also a _look_ from IF. A look that told the purplette how many things IF thought were wrong with the statement.

The couple did not notice Nepgear shrugging it off. "Anyway, I have to study on the twentieth, and sis needs me at home on the twenty-first." Which was code for CPU-business, as IF knew by now. "I'm free on the twenty-second, though."

IF figured she could just shift her own plans around, but was momentarily distracted by Compa's headshake. "Sorry, can't. I already promised some of my other friends to hang out that day." It went without saying that Hubert would feel awkward around Nepgear and IF, seeing that they rarely got to meet.

The brunette just nodded and accepted the fact while finishing her own train of thought; she had planned to visit Mari and the children, as she had far too few opportunities to do so. She knew she was always welcome, as Mari had drilled into her every time she visited before, but there was only so much time in the day.

With these slight changes to her own plans, however... "I'm free that day, we can think of something to do together." And in that moment, IF noticed. When she spoke up and thus turned her attention back to Nepgear, her friend's expression immediately changed to conceal something that had been there before. The young CPU had not done a well-enough job in concealing her anxiety.

Nonetheless, IF pretended not to have noticed; she could tell this was likely one of Neptune's plans, which she would find out about soon enough. There was no need to try coaxing it out of Nepgear immediately, especially with Hubert around.

Their conversation continued for some time, though it was mainly the couple talking for a while. IF and Nepgear listened to them curiously, noting by themselves how well the two got along. They also noticed how Compa kept throwing glances toward the purplette, rather obviously unsure about 'flaunting' her relationship in front of her.

Some time later, IF's phone began to buzz; once she checked, she found yet another chirp from Uni's official Chirper account. This time however, it was not just a comment on something else or some kind of news. Nepgear was checking her phone as well, and the fond smile on her face told IF all she needed to know.

There was an image of a well-crafted longsword featuring Lastation's insignia. With it came a short note from the CPU herself, talking about how proud she was of her newest work.

While she had the app open, IF also noticed that there were tons of new chirps from each of the CPUs; they usually used Chirper as a quick means to reach their people aside from the usual channels, which was why IF only actually followed the Candidates and Purple Heart.

Her curiousity brought her to check what happened around the other nations.

When opening Green Heart's page however, the young woman almost dropped her phone in surprise. She blinked at what she saw, then turned to look at her friends. "Guys, check Lady Green Heart's chirps." Her voice was subdued due to the unexpected event. "Leanbox got a new Maker."

So Compa and Hubert also pulled out their phones while Nepgear swiped on hers a few times; the purplette's smile made it clear that she already knew.

Apparently, but a few hours earlier, 5pb. had been appointed as the third Maker of Leanbox.

"Oh... but is that really a good idea?" Compa was obviously excited, yet appeared concerned as well. "I mean, 5pb. already has so much on her plate. It even says here that she won't stop working as an idol." She was right, too; being Gamindustri's greatest star required a great amount of work. Slaying monsters in the meantime would be another burden.

IF quickly switched pages to 5pb.'s account and found replies to similar concerns. She snorted and shook her head at them. "She thinks she can handle it, so let's hope for the best." She left out that the idol gained some more appreciation for her confidence; IF always adored her music, but never really got herself a proper opinion of the person that was 5pb..

She could definitely respect such dedication to one's nation.

**. .**

**. .**

It was a workday, so they had met rather late; seeing that Compa and Hubert had classes the following morning, they said their goodbyes by the time the sky began to assume an orange tint.

Granted, they would not have minded to stay a little longer, but IF had to get a good night's rest for her shift and needed to take enough time for her exercises.

As the couple strolled up onto the walkway, Hubert wore a curious frown. "You're right, IF is very driven," he told his girlfriend thoughtfully. Of course Colette had mentioned this before, but he hardly ever met IF; to him, actually noticing her spending so much time on her practice was a new development.

He did have his doubts when Colette first told him the extent of IF's training regimen, seeing that it was utterly insane to believe. Yet she had a starting rank of B in the Guild, a confirmed kill on an Ancient Dragon at seventeen, and a serious character; everything pointed to it being true.

He doubted that IF was a liar, which left only for him to accept that she was that dedicated. To what exactly, he did not know yet.

"I told you so," the woman by Hubert's side noted with a bright smile, taking his hand happily as she continued. "Iffy is incredible. Watching her give it her all inspired me to work harder many times. I think she really is the epitome of the Lady's creed."

The purple creed's core theme was to put in as much work as was necessary to reach one's goals, no matter how much it ended up being. Even Compa had never really asked what IF was truly aiming for, but she had a good guess; Hubert would soon understand that as well.

After all, there was only one position someone could strive for if they spent that much time improving their combat capabilities.

Not just an agent, not a combat instructor, and definitely not a guard. IF never had to actually say what it was she wanted.

Hubert gave her statement some thought, but ultimately nodded. He could freely admit that IF put in more work than either of them did, or anyone else he knew. "I guess so. She is a little intimidating, though."

To his confusion, the admission brought a quiet giggle out of Colette, who squeezed his hand in sympathy. "I get that, she really is. She always was, too; Iffy is Iffy, but it gets easier to talk to her if you remember that she doesn't try to be, it just happens." They were similar enough for such advice to help, though Hubert would need a while to actually take it to heart.

"Actually," he answered after a moment of thought. "I figure being around her might feel quite similar to being around our Lady." He had considered that a few times; having to think of how he had pushed back his studies to go on a date with his dear, or stopped early to watch a show in the evening, he felt a sense of unease when talking to IF.

Once again, he made Colette giggle. The young woman leaned against him, both of them being carried away by the energy field. "It actually is. Not the exact same thing, but really similar."

"Oh? How do you figure?" His question led to a weak smile and the answer gave Hubert pause.

"Because I met her a few times." She waited for a moment, but he also waited for her to carry on, so she did: "It's a little different. With Iffy, it feels like there is an expectation because she's our peer; a good friend. With our Lady, it's... like a mother expecting her child to do well." They both knew that Colette had neither of her mothers growing up, but her grandfather had filled the role as best as he could.

Hubert nodded in understanding and considered to wrap an arm around his girl's shoulder, but decided against it. Colette was strong in her own right, and just staying together like this was enough for both of them.

"I never knew." It was not really an accusation, more of a question. Colette offered him a sheepish smile from where she stood next to him.

"It felt like bragging is all..." She trailed off, but Hubert did not really need to hear any more; he got what she meant.

Although that did not mean he had to agree. "It's not really, I don't think. How did you meet her?" He had to admit that he _was_ curious about the matter; there was currently no one near them, so they could talk about it freely.

"Oh, um..." Colette considered for a moment and leaned into him some more. "I'm friends with her sister, actually. Not that I knew when I first met her."

The admission surprised Hubert, but he quickly followed it up with a smile. "Heh, figures that you can charm even a deity into friendship." Which made her blush faintly; Hubert chuckled and brought an arm around his girlfriend after all. She did not respond in words, but neither of them needed any at the moment.

**::**

Several kilometres away, the CPU in question sat in her office and was going over a few reports which had been delivered moments earlier. She kept herself busy humming a basic tune into her headset as she worked, to many groans from her friends.

It was not a tune that left one's head easily, reminiscent of blocks being stacked on top of each other.

"Oh for... shut the fuck up!" Blanc finally shouted at her, which at least made Neptune's humming a little more quiet. Vert chuckled over their loweean friend's outburst in the background while Noire merely sighed.

"Okay," the Lastationite chimed in before the purplette could finish pushing Blanc into a rampage. "What are you so happy about?"

They all knew Neptune would have stopped if her mind was really on the matter; she was obviously looking forward to something, so much so that she disregarded the chance of a petite berserker hammering in her door.

Neptune giggled in turn and set her seal on a paper before pushing it over toward Histoire. Her other hand was already grabbing for a brooch she had lying on her desk; it was quite familiar to her after how often she handed out the very same design in the past.

Her lips curled into a bright smile as she eyed the design again. "It's time for my last Maker to get the news."

None of the other three had forgotten what she told them over half a year ago. They all remembered, and all of them understood the situation. "Yes, that would do it," Noire muttered with a light rustle that was obviously her shaking her head.

"My, how interesting," Vert added benignly. "Be sure to send her to me soon, yes? I want to take a closer look at your girl."

"Same," Blanc added; she had returned back to her usual monotone at this point.

Neptune merely chuckled. "I'll see what I can do." She had much to prepare, after all.


	39. New Dawn 3

_I strongly dislike the notion that someone is born a hero. Some have more talent than others, but this is it; there is no genetic sequence for heroism._

-Black Heart

* * *

A small group of Dogoos attempted to outhop its doom; they were aware of danger, yet none of them stopped to see the reaper's approach. Within moments, all eight were crushed by a big block of ice.

Another group nearby, in position to behold their kin's demise, was swiftly speared by two fiery lances that danced between them until none were left. A series of bright flashes, then the monsters had turned into particles.

Nepgear and IF raised their thumbs toward each other, having completed their tasks. A lone boxbird trying to sneak up on them was impaled by pure magic and dissipated a moment later; the drone that spotted it hovered away in search for more monsters.

IF took the moment of respite to wipe some sweat from her forehead; their shift had been going for a while and there were notably more monsters roaming the countryside this day.

Kylian contacted both of them soon after: "No more hostiles for now, good work, girls." He was being professional at the moment, though both women knew his behaviour could switch back to teasing and taunting at the drop of a hat. "Hey, IF, am I imagining this or is your magic acting more fluidly these days?"

The question could have been either; IF did not hear any amused undertones, so she considered the matter for a moment before answering. "I think so? I've been practicing the last two months. How do you figure?" She did feel that she had better control and was now actually able to use larger quantities without hurting herself. Neptune's tutelage had done a lot for her in that regard. Though she suspected that her magic control got better so quickly because she practiced it alongside her Awakening, which could be manipulated similarly but reacted much more easily.

"Just a hunch," her operator told her nonchalantly. "I thought I saw it being more coherent and not, you know, just a wave with the expanding end pointed at the enemy." Harsh, but fair. "And, uh, you know, you just used ice. You never used ice before." He had a point there, IF had to admit.

Recently, she felt at least confident enough to play with the safest element; still no electricity for obvious reasons, but ice was usable. Her next goal was wind and then pure magic.

She would never be able to play Spellball, but might just manage to get the remaining elements under control.

"You have me there," she told Kylian before looking around. Nepgear had walked up to her with a benign smile, most likely happy about her arcane progress. "I think my Awakening helps with it."

"You awakened?" The question mostly held curiousity, though there was a hint of surprise in it as well. IF had yet to use that power during work hours, seeing that it was difficult to utilise over longer timespans.

"Two months ago, yeah." She heard a chuckle from the other end, but the older man did not give another response on the matter. Both agents oriented themselves and got going again.

Hours passed without much of note happening. More monsters, nothing really new. IF and Nepgear finished their shift happily enough and boarded the train after a friendly goodbye to their operator.

Once inside and sitting down after eight hours on their feet, IF checked her phone and found a message from Neptune. It told her to meet up in Planeptower once she was off work.

That was unusual; Neptune normally ambushed her at the station if she wanted to hang out. It might be practice, but IF had learned to read the CPU by this point; if it were practice, the message would have had a note about that.

This, however, was nothing beside a summons to the Basilicom. Which meant they had a surprise planned. The speculative look IF threw at Nepgear only made the Candidate avert her eyes and pretend she had not seen, so the brunette knew both of them were in on this.

Instead of wasting her time attempting to pry, the young woman relaxed into her seat for the few minutes she had until their train held at a station close to Planeptower. The Basilicom's metal canopy already covered the area where they returned to the surface, and it was a walk of about five minutes to reach the front entrance.

Nepgear took the same path as her, obviously with the same destination. People on the streets greeted them once in a while and the girls returned those greetings with smiles.

The elevator took them upward with a quiet hum, the silence kept by both of them. It was at this point that IF felt her empty stomach; the sandwiches she made as her lunch were eaten hours ago and she had been out and about.

Not that she planned on mentioning it for the time being; she would eat a hearty meal once she got back home, no need to bother her hosts. Except that the smell of food hit them the moment the elevator doors opened. A cheerful Neptune waved at them with one hand after pausing her game, the petite purplette lounging on her couch. "Hey there, you two! Good work!"

She quickly saved and shut down the console, then jumped up and hugged the two of them with her usual enthusiasm, to which both IF and Nepgear could just smile. They stayed like this for a moment, then the older CPU let go and smiled up at them. "I made you something to eat, so go fill that little tummy of yours. Talking comes after."

IF just shook her head and did as she was told, taking a seat at the table after folding her coat over the back of her chair. Nepgear sat down opposite to her while Neptune darted into the kitchen.

The table was already set, she noted absent-mindedly. Trying to figure out what the CPUs wanted to tell her brought no decent answers, so she stopped. "Thanks for the meal, Nep. You really didn't have to, you know?"

"Nah, nonsense," the older woman called back as she marched in with a pot hugged to her chest. "My two favourite girls did good work, so they get good food." It was obviously more a turn of phrase, seeing that Nepgear had no need to eat.

On the other hand, being called someone's favourite did make IF feel a little happy. She dug in the moment Neptune filled her plate, enjoying the expertly cooked meat from the get-go.

It was not just the meat, as Neptune had put a lot of effort into every part of the dish she served. The more petite woman left IF in peace as she ate, busying herself with a scientific paper she was going through.

Not that IF did not watch her; for a human, the speed at which Neptune went through that paper was ludicrous. For a CPU, it likely was sedate. From the cover page placed topside up on the table, which she just knew was not a coincidence, the brunette gathered that her friend read an article about chemistry. She could not decipher any more based on the terms used.

Time went by like that; similar to IF, Nepgear ate in quiet appreciation and left Neptune be until they were both done. The younger CPU quickly gathered the plates and turned for the kitchen, but a short flick of magic from the older one sent them back to stay on the table. Neptune marked her progress on the paper and got up, all smiles. "Nope, we can clean up later. Now's time for the fun stuff!"

She shooed them over to the staircase and down a storey, where IF knew the guest quarters and Histoire's room were. The latter was easily set apart by the large, colourful letter H painted on it. By Neptune.

They did not stop there, though. Another set of stairs was taken, down to the last floor above 400. IF had been here before, of course, yet never for business. Neptune and Nepgear let her see their office a long time ago.

She noticed that nothing had changed since the last time she was white desks in the room's center, pushed together to form a T-shape with Neptune's at the top while Nepgear's and Histoire's workplaces were facing each other. Still three computer screens on each of them, with keyboards placed in their midsts and the computers they were attached to neatly hidden below the desks. The same light blue carpet and grey walls.

Even the potted plant in the corner looked the same, however they did that; IF knew it was organic and should have grown.

She figured that some alterations had been made to the file cabinets on the wall behind Nepgear's desk to the right, but never paid enough attention to those to tell. The two printers behind Histoire's desk still appeared the same and the wide window behind Neptune's definitely was.

Histoire was present as well, IF noted as she was led through the room. The Oracle's avatar sat atop her main body, which rested on her desk; blonde hair spilled over her back and onto the empty pages, held in a tight stream by delicate wings. She was going through something on a screen, not requiring a keyboard as she directly entered command sequences into the computer.

Once they went through this room, the human woman was made to sit down in Neptune's large office chair while the CPU hopped onto her desk. Nepgear quickly rolled her own chair over to take a seat as well.

IF felt a little uncomfortable to be offered this particular seat, as it technically belonged to the ruler of Planeptune, but said nothing. She knew there was no formality in this chair, as it was nothing but a chair, but a bit of reverence to her goddess still remained.

And Neptune still _was_ her goddess, that she had never doubted. Even though her regular behaviour might turn some from their faith, once one understood how this purplette worked, it could easily be maintained. As much as she made herself appear as a lazy good-for-nothing, Neptune was as diligent as a deity should be.

"So," the woman in question began, "I have put a lot of thought into how to have this conversation. I've talked to Nepgear and Histy, and we all agreed that the best way to do it is like this." Her usual smile had been replaced with a more serious expression, which made IF straighten up unconciously. Neptune rarely spoke like this in her civilian form, but it was always important. Yet she could for the life of her not figure out what this might be about.

The fact she was in the process of receiving a promotion never crossed her mind.

When Neptune's smile returned, she at least knew that there was nothing bad in the works for her. The CPU gently opened a drawer on her desk and pulled out a brown envelope. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time, Isa. Today, I can finally give you what you deserve."

The envelope was held out to her.

After a moment of hesitation, IF took the hardened paper with a light rustle. It felt a little more heavy than a letter would make it; she found no writing on the outside, either.

When she cast a glance at Neptune, the purplette nodded at her; so IF carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside before putting them on the desk. She could tell there was something else, though; a moment of turning it upside down had the something slide out and into her waiting hand.

It was a piece of purple cloth lined with silver. Within it, she felt something hard that revealed itself to be a brooch.

IF's breath hitched when she saw it; her eyes began to widen and her hands hardly moved when she tried to turn it around.

It was formed like a kite shield, the upper end wide and the lower one curving into a rounded tip. The front side revealed a deep purple colouring, with a stylised cogwheel in the center. The very same imagery Planeptune's flag wore, and had worn for the last three hundred years.

She knew what it meant, yet could not believe what she was holding. A wide-eyed look to Neptune only yielded a gentle nod, the same with Nepgear.

There was not a child who did not know the meaning of this brooch. Those who were allowed to carry the insignia of their nation were no less than its champions.

In her hand, Isabelle Fontaine held the proof of being a Maker.

She continued to stare at it for long seconds, unable to truly believe what was happening. She knew she had to be far too young to take this, but Neptune would not just give it to her as a joke. She did not believe she was ready, but her Lady apparently did.

The struggle between emotion and reason was interrupted when Nepgear whispered to her sister: "Um, I think you broke her."

"Nah, totally didn't." A pair of hands wrapped around Isabelle's, making her feel the gentle warmth of another being. Neptune's lilac eyes were bright as their gazes met, though that was difficult to see with how blurry Isabelle's field of vision had become.

The CPU paused when tears began to trickle down her cheeks. They rolled quietly, yet this young woman felt no sadness. The opposite, in fact: joy surged through every fibre of her being.

She made it.

Isabelle attempted to wipe her tears away, but more followed quickly, so she gave up on that endeavor. Instead, the young woman hugged the brooch to her chest with a quiet sob, vaguely aware of someone stroking her head. She did not feel like checking; all of this still felt like a dream.

She basked in her happiness and the CPUs let her be; both of them were surprised by the bright smile that found itself on Isabelle's face. They had seen her smile before, but never with such joy; it felt almost alien, as if another person had taken their friend's place.

Yet this was without doubt the same Isabelle that had always been around them.

After a while of quiet sobbing, she finally managed to calm herself and made to wipe her eyes once more, but a soft handkerchief was pushed into her hand. Nepgear just smiled, a gesture which she found returned in the same brilliance as before. "Thank you," Isabelle whispered as she wiped the wetness off her face. Her eyes were puffy now, but she could not care less.

The brooch that was still in her hands drew Isabelle's attention once more. After giving it another longing glance however, her eyes searched for Neptune's. "Are you sure? I'm not even nineteen, do you really think I'm ready for this?"

As much as it hurt her to ask with her goal so close, she felt she had to. Her doubts were quite justified too, as the average age of appointment for Makers remained at twenty-five; yet the CPU merely nodded, an encouraging smile on her lips. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Isa," she started and leaned back on her desk, though she never broke eye contact.

"Strength and capability are important virtues for a Maker, but we are looking for experience and maturity as well. It is the latter that pushes up the average a lot." The purplette gave Isabelle a little nod, who blinked back at her. "You already have a few years of experience under your belt and an emotional maturity that few of your age possess. You are strong and you are compassionate."

Neptune's smile had become soft. "You are ready," she finished. "So, do you want to be a Maker of Planeptune?"

Isabelle had gone quiet before, echoing the words in her mind. Once her Lady had finished speaking, she took a deep breath and spoke with as much calm as she could gather: "Yes. I want that."

At last, her dream had come true.

Before her emotions could spill again, both Nep sisters took one of her hands each. They beamed about as brightly as Isabelle herself, celebrating the moment as much as she did. "We're happy to have you," Nepgear started brightly, "I'm sure you will do great."

As she spoke, Neptune snatched the brooch out of Isabelle's hand and smiled at her. "Now come on, get up so I can put this on you."

She immediately complied and stood, letting the older CPU clip the brooch to her top, right above her heart. It still felt a bit like a dream, but Isabelle soon caught herself and took a deep breath.

Looking down, she still found reality as it were. The brooch was in place and her friends were smiling still. Even Histoire wore a fond smile, though she did not give any other sign of following their exchange as she worked.

Now that she agreed to the position however, Neptune's expression morphed into a mischievous one as she drew her cellphone. "And now for the best part." She quickly tapped something and Isabelle had little more than enough time to furrow her eyebrows before her own phone began to buzz. Flicking it open, she found a chirp from Purple Heart.

It noted that Planeptune's third Maker would be introduced on the twenty-second of June, the final day of Summer Solstice.

Green eyes met lilac ones, exasperation being confronted with mirth. Finally, Isabelle sighed. "Well played."

Her concession brought a chuckle out of Nepgear, then the Candidate motioned for the papers Isabelle had put aside earlier. "We should get these worked out now." As if on cue, Neptune gently pushed her back into the wide chair so she could get to it. Both CPUs sat on the armrests, looking over her shoulder without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Isabelle merely rolled her eyes and looked over what they got for her; she was still filled with happiness, but forced herself to focus.

On most days, legal work would have drawn a tired sigh from her. In this case, she actively welcomed it; changing workplaces from the Guild to the planeptunian government, discharge from the duties she had for almost three years, the Maker's contract, legal details, and so on.

The contract asked for an alias to use during her work. After thinking about it for a moment, she simply noted down what felt most natural to her: IF. It worked well enough.

"Ah, figured you would do that. Now you're officially our Iffy," Neptune teased, but went ignored. IF continued to go through the papers one by one, asking questions of her friends when she did not understand something.

As she worked however, IF could not help but listen to the tiny sliver of doubt. Her hand holding the pen slowed and she cast another searching glance at Neptune. "Are you _sure_ I'm ready for this?" She just could not see why an eighteen-year-old should be given such an important position.

Perhaps it was her tone of voice, or the fact Neptune knew her well, but the purplette became dead serious immediately. "Yes. You are." Her hand landed on IF's head and remained there, the reassurance making her turn back to the remaining paperwork.

Neither of them continued that part of the conversation. IF finished with the forms soon enough; they were then snatched up by Nepgear and handed to Histoire, who paused what she had been doing and immediately began to process the files without a word.

"Now then," Neptune beamed at her newest Maker. "How about we go meet your future colleagues? They're both around today." She immediately broke into giggles when she saw IF's surprise. "Tehehe, didn't think it would go that fast, did you?"

She only shook her head quietly, but recovered and slowly pushed the chair back. Her purple-haired friends both stepped off of it, though Nepgear sheepishly poked her fingers together. "Um, well. I have to get going, though," she explained. "I have a test soon and need to study."

The admission earned her a sympathetic grimace from IF. She had gotten to see one of the tests Histoire composed for the Candidates before; the only ones she figured she might have been able to solve in the time given were those for children not yet through their first year. "My condolences."

This time, it was Histoire who chuckled. The Tome's avatar eyed them with a good-natured smile, though she did not slow down her work in the slightest. "In accordance with all other proper institutions of learning, I do want my students to pass. But I will make it so they have to work properly for it."

As she was no longer a student herself, IF only shuddered lightly. Then she turned back to Nepgear with a serious expression. "As I said, my condolences." Her joke brought her a round of chuckles before the purplette nodded and turned to leave.

Once she was out the door, Histoire shook her head without ever losing the smile. "She is responsible enough not to fail, Isabelle. My tutelage will end once she turns twenty; after that point, she has to teach herself."

IF nodded in understanding; she did look up some new things once in a while, but knew she did not do that as much as she probably should. Nepgear had to rule the nation, so it was expected of her to keep herself up to date.

"Enough talking, see you later Histy!" Neptune chirped while picking IF up and running out of the room. Histoire merely raised a hand in parting, returning attention back to her work while the CPU jumped down an entire flight of stairs. IF held onto her with an unamused expression, though her lips twitched.

When Neptune landed and righted herself, she put her human friend back down with a smile and took her hand to guide her. "Right this way, Isa." She was led down another set of stairs and out the door. "Welcome to floor number four hundred, Makers and personnel only."

Due to the fact Planeptower became more narrow toward its tip, this storey was not particularly large just yet. A few dozen metres of corridors, several rooms that were currently not in use, and one that was. When they reached the latter, it slid open by itself just as usual.

Within, IF found a wide lounge, big enough to take in about a third of the entire level. Large windows at the other end were overlooking southern Nicos and the countryside in the distance; black leather couches were placed along light blue walls, and a long wooden table stood in the room's center. At least a dozen chairs were placed around this table, and two round tables had been put further into the room.

It would take IF days to realise that with how the tables were aligned, they formed a smiley face. In these moments, her attention was more taken up by the people sitting at one of the tables; there were two of them, both with their heads turned toward the door.

The more attention-garnering one was a tall android, slender in build but with big shoulder pauldrons. He, and she knew he was male, had a colouring that hovered between dark purple and navy blue. His neck and sides had hexagon-patterns in a lighter blue, looking less armoured than the rest of him. The cameras behind his white eyeslits were obviously directed at her.

Opposite to him sat a woman with full, red hair. It fell toward her shoulder, with some longer strands bound into a knot that resembled an R. Similar to the smile she threw their way, her skin was smooth and bright; not much of it was visible under the crimson robe she wore, the garment holding flower motifs and golden shoulder pads.

But the most telling detail about her was the golden creature sat on her shoulder. Its eyes watched them sharply, claws resting on her arm as the serpentine body wound itself around the woman's waist.

Makers Steamax and RED, in the metal and flesh respectively.

Though a moment after they entered, the human woman exploded out of her chair and leapt over the table with a single motion that somehow managed to be graceful. "Lady Nep!" she cheered before impacting the CPU and being whirled around when Neptune caught her. The two shared an enthusiastic hug while IF blinked at the display.

Now she knew that RED really was as she gave herself, full of energy just like Neptune.

From the new perspective, she also noticed that the other Maker's robe was cut so that its front was at skirt length while the back appeared more like a dress. In addition, RED stood at about Neptune's height.

Movement from the corner of her eye told the brunette that Steamax had gotten up as well; he approached the small group with smooth motions. Now that he stood, she saw a longsword strapped to his waist and a large metal shuriken on his left arm. His feet produced soft thumps on the plasteel floor.

While RED was busy with Neptune, IF offered Steamax a respectful bow and received the same in turn. Somehow, the android managed to make his entire appearance exude friendliness. When he addressed the CPU, his modulated voice came in a dark baritone: "What brings you to us, Lady Neptune?"

The redhead let go when the question was asked, leaving Neptune to beam at the two before leaning over and pulling IF's coat aside. "You have three guesses, and the other two don't count." The moment her brooch was revealed once again, both Makers paused to look her over. IF already knew she did not fit in with how young she was, but her train of thought was interrupted by a once more ballistic RED.

The older woman jumped her with the same force she had used on Neptune before, making the brunette stumble two steps backward while catching her in a strong hug. "That's great, welcome to the team!" It took IF a moment to process the greeting as she was quite aware of the ample bosom pressed into her front; the older woman did not seem to care at all, happily embracing her. She somehow even managed to keep her dragon from bumping into IF.

"Um, yeah. Nice to meet you. I'm IF." She was held at arm's length a moment later, for RED to look over in detail. The other Maker's smile was bright when she let go.

Steamax moved in right after her to shake IF's hand. "It is good to see we are back to our usual three. A pleasure to make your acquaintance; I am Steamax."

"And I'm RED!" the redhead chimed in from the side, bubbly as she darted around IF to give her a once-over. "I like your style, Iffy!" And just like that, Neptune broke into giggles while IF heaved a sigh. RED looked from one to the other, then chuckled by herself. "So that one was already in use?"

"Yep yep," the purplette admitted cheerfully, then pressed her hands into her sides and eyed the group with obvious content. "It's good to see the team back to full strength."

IF raised her eyebrow at the purplette. "You could just have appointed someone instead of... of..." She paused, noticing the suspicious lack of a third Maker for so long. The other two eyed them curiously while the brunette cast a _look_ at her friend. "Nep, have you really done what I think you did?"

"I can't read your mind," Neptune told her sagely, though there was a certain cheek to it that they all noticed. "But if you think that I held back on a third Maker so I could appoint you immediately, you are completely right." Then the purplette stuck out her tongue and darted out of reach with a giggle. Not that IF followed her; she merely heaved another sigh.

"Uh, I don't follow," RED offered with a raised hand and lost look. She did notice when Steamax's head began to turn from their new colleague to the hiding goddess, though. "Something the matter?"

"I believe I understand, having just checked some databases," the android replied carefully, then nodded toward IF. "From what I could gather, IF has yet to reach her nineteenth year."

Now the redhead's eyes widened to an almost comical degree. "For real?!" She got a nod from Steamax, then a thumbs up from Neptune, and finally a sheepish confirmation from IF. "Wow! I don't remember any Makers below twenty-one anywhere in Gamindustri!"

She hugged IF for good measure, who wondered if the open awe was not more bothersome than doubt in her abilities or something of the like. RED appeared genuinely happy to have her, though she thankfully did not whirl her around just yet. Confronted with such a good mood, she could not bring herself to remain moody for long.

She had not even known she would be a Maker an hour ago. Now she stood among them. "Aren't you even a little worried?" she could not stop herself from asking before her own worries were washed away in cheer.

Her question made RED look at her in surprise, then understanding. She cast a glance at Neptune and Steamax, then shrugged at IF. "Not really, no. I mean, you're young, yeah, but Lady Nep doesn't choose Makers because she likes them. If she even left a spot open for you, then I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I concur," Steamax added a moment later, hands folded behind his back. "Lady Neptune is quite thorough in choosing her Makers. Though, from the records I can see, you definitely make for a fine addition." He stopped there, but elaborated when RED let go of IF and threw him a curious look. "She beat the Guild entrance examination at fourteen, without any official backing, for one."

A beat.

Then RED broke into haltless giggles and slapped IF's shoulder. "Pff, tehehe, and you say you, hahaha, you might not be up to it, hehe." Her mirth continued, but was soon stumped when Neptune reentered the conversation.

"Yeah, Iffy is the youngest Maker in planeptunian history. We didn't have anyone this young in any of the other nations either. Histy won't tell me if there were any like her before, though." IF took another deep breath and shook off her irritation while the purplette continued: "Anyway, she's ready. Might need some more time to practice with her Awakening, but it is good enough to be put to work."

The other Makers nodded understandingly, then RED hugged her again. "Welcome to the team, it's great to have you! You're a little young for my wifey-harem, but I'm sure we'll get along anyway!" She said something confusing there, but failed to elaborate. Neptune just smirked while petting the dragon on RED's shoulder, who ignored her.

Steamax was the one to explain: "You have to understand, our friend RED here is looking to get married and takes an, ah, unusual approach to the matter."

He paused for a moment to think, but the redhead took over with a cheerful "Yep!" while grinning at IF. "I date all the girls I can imagine marrying until I find someone I really wanna be with, or find that I do not mesh well with someone. In the first case, fiancée get, in the second one, well, we usually go to being friends or part on good terms."

IF followed this explanation with a raised eyebrow, though her expression did not deter RED. It did sound weird, almost incredibly so. "And they are all okay with that?"

The redhead tilted her head for a moment, then nodded a few times. "Yep, it's a lot more casual than actually dating, I guess. More like being good friends? But everyone knows that I'm looking for a wife, so there's no miscommunication about that. Anyone who gets herself a partner goes into my regular friend harem."

IF's eyes narrowed over the last part while RED giggled. "Okay, now you are messing with me."

"I am," the older woman admitted freely before getting back on topic. "But really, I'm doing fine with this. It's murder on my free time with all the dates, but that's worth it."

IF nodded, accepting the matter and moving on. Neptune poked her side for attention a moment later. "Speaking of free time," she started with a smile that already told the brunette she would not like what followed, "you guys probably saw it already, Iffy will be introduced in a bit more than a week. Until then, you," by which she addressed IF, "can come and go in Planeptower as you want, but will not join any missions. Oh, and keep the brooch hidden in public until it's time."

Even though she tried to give her something else to think about, IF was not distracted from the fact she had no work for more than a week.

Again.

"Anyway," the purplette continued once IF began to twitch, receding back toward the door. "I've gotta do stuff _gottagobye_!" And then she ran off, leaving behind a slightly annoyed woman and two people who had no idea what was going on.

The youngest of the trio sighed, but then felt a smooth metallic hand on her shoulder. "Shall we have a seat and talk for a bit?"

Turning around, she found herself face to face with Steamax; RED appeared just as interested in the prospect, so IF nodded reluctantly. "Sure."

So she was led over ot one of the couches and sat down between her fellow Makers.

'Fellow Makers'; the thought alone washed away IF's concern and trepidation, making her relax immediately. She was a Maker now, of that there was no doubt.

"Hang on, gonna troll Lexi," RED chirped while whipping out her phone. She chuckled, quickly composing a text and sending it. "There, now she knows I know who my new Maker-buddy is, but she doesn't!"

A moment later, she got a reply and her face fell. "W-What? How?!"

Leaning over, IF read the conversation, seeing both a picture of 'Lexi' and her name; she quickly stopped her new colleague from replying by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Well, Alexis used to be on my team; I bet it was just a shot in the dark." She quickly got out her own phone and opened Alexis' contact, sending her a 'Well played'; then IF added a note to keep this a secret for now. She would bring it up with them soon enough. All that came back was a thumbs up.

"Oh, you were on Lexi's team, too?" Now she had RED's full attention again, the older woman enthusiastic. "That's a neat coinci- nah, we all know Lady Nep planned it." Both Steamax and IF nodded; they all knew that Neptune had her fingers in this.

RED chuckled, but then her eyes lit up and she turned her occupied shoulder toward IF. "Oh, right! IF, meet Ryuki, the laziest Ancient Dragon in the world!"

Said dragon merely blinked at her, unmoving. It did not even breathe, yet IF knew it was real. RED was the one and only human who managed to tame a monster; this feat had never been repeated even after she managed it.

"Come on, pet him, he doesn't bite." It appeared as if RED wanted to add something there for a moment, but stopped herself. IF ignored it and reached out to run her fingertips over Ryuki's head; the scales were ungiving and smooth, but also a little cold to the touch. A weird sensation overall, but not unpleasant.

"He's a lazy butt," RED supplied helpfully while her pet continued to stay still. "Only moves for fighting and food." She picked a capsule of something out of her pocket and held it up; the dragon immediately opened its maw to receive the offering, chomping down a moment after the redhead pulled her hand back out. "See?"

IF nodded in understanding, taking her fingers back and looking around again. This lounge was spacious. "Yeah; say, is it always this... laidback in here?"

The other two glanced around, with Steamax taking over amicably: "Not necessarily. As monster density and spawning keeps fluctuating, we may find ourselves with a great amount of idle time one day and a long time of combat the next. Today is a quiet day, though we may still have to head out later."

He considered his words for a moment, then offered her a shrug. "The job description of us Makers is not complicated; go out and kill the biggest monsters. It is the fighting itself that is tiresome, but at times there are simply no large critters to be subdued. Planeptune's artillery and mechanised divisions can take care of most singular monsters themselves, so we are only called in for larger groups."

RED nodded in agreement. "Yup yup, we are the Ladies' right hands after all. The only ones who can fight stuff they would have to waste their time with otherwise." It made sense, too; IF knew there was a hangar with transports dedicated to the Makers just a few storeys below. They could head out anytime when required.

"Sooo," the older woman brought her attention back, "what do you do in your free time? Steamax here does all kinds of things and I'm a professional dancer." She cheerfully pointed at herself; the question only brought a shrug out of IF, though.

She did not really have an answer there, but did not feel like mincing words right now. "Not much; I, uh, always wanted to reach this place, so that's what I put all my time and effort into." RED frowned over that, her soft features turning a little more stern.

Then she shrugged and smiled. "Well, if that's what you wanted. You certainly got it. Should find yourself a hobby, though; it gets boring to be on standby up here."

"Either way," Steamax chimed in pleasantly, "I believe we will get along well."


	40. New Dawn 4

_I, b-but, no! I told you I don't like people looking at me. I just... don't. I can't wear that!_

-Vert

* * *

A familiar brooch lay on the table, with three stares basically glued to it. The fourth was directed at this brooch's owner, whose gaze wandered over her friends.

IF considered the surprised faces again and had to suppress a sigh; she called them over after getting back from Planeptower, now her old team and Compa were seated in her living room. The only one not staring at the brooch was Alexis, who had already gotten the news earlier.

The young woman fidgeted a little in the awkward silence, knowing well what kind of revelation this was for her friends.

"So..." Compa started cautiously, eyes slowly leaving the brooch, "this means you're a Maker now?" IF nodded, noting by herself how Gabriel started shaking his head; André had a hand on his forehead as well.

That was when Alexis began to chuckle and tapped the fine metal a few times. "Well, looks like no one won." The men sighed, which prompted confused looks from IF and Compa; Alexis explained cheerfully: "We were betting on when they'd appoint you. Gabriel said twenty two, me and André said twenty one."

It had not even been in question to them.

IF sighed and Compa joined the good mood; the peach-haired woman soon gave her a cheerful slap on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Iffy."

The other three quickly echoed the statement in similar forms. IF blushed a little and looked around. "I, uh, should get some more water." With which she quickly darted into the kitchen, followed by the laughter of unfooled friends.

IF rubbed her warm cheeks, attempting to will the embarassment away and failing miserably; she sighed and pulled two bottles of soda out of her fridge. Those IF pressed to her cheeks for a few moments, the soothing cold chasing some of her blush away.

She quickly lowered her hands again and wandered back into the living room; Gabriel was busy examining the brooch while Compa texted someone, with Alexis looking over her shoulder. The darker-skinned woman was smiling mischievously, so IF could guess who Compa was messaging.

She quietly refilled all the cups and sat down again, leaning back in her chair. "Anyway, how is everyone? I haven't really stayed in contact with you three." Which she felt a little sorry about; it just never felt like a good moment.

The older agents exchanged glances and shrugged. Gabriel took over the talking: "Could be better, really. André and I got two new kids with special licenses, and let me tell you they aren't like you at all." The taller man nodded in agreement while IF raised an eyebrow. Gabriel chuckled. "They're arrogant, the both of them. Think they have it all figured out, but are maybe half as competent as you."

Compa was listening curiously until this point, but now she interjected: "Half as competent as Iffy doesn't sound too bad."

"Fair enough," Gabriel muttered before shaking his head. "They aren't making idiots of themselves all the time, but it happens more often than I like."

"What about Alexis?" The younger brunette asked with a glance at the oldest woman in the room, who shrugged and leaned back.

"I'm getting a little old for field duty. All of us are," she offered as an explanation.

Gabriel nodded and André added to that: "She is right. Gab and I are already taking classes for operating duty, but we decided to finish with this group first. Alexis just went ahead last month after the girl decided to pick a fight with her."

A glance to Alexis only brought both IF and Compa a shrug; she did not elaborate, and neither of them asked. Gabriel sighed quietly. "Well, we were lucky enough to get two budding Makers during our time, and a CPU on top of it."

"What he's saying," André supplied with a sly grin, "is that he misses you." For which Gabriel showed him the finger. The taller man only grinned while IF snorted at the sight. Compa, who had some friends who acted that way toward each other as well, only smiled.

Alexis took it up from there: "But yes, we've got to work with a CPU and two girls that made Maker; that's pretty good. Not like many can do better... not counting the Makers," she added after a glance to IF.

This, however, brought a mischievous giggle out of Compa. "You're right," she told Alexis brightly, "but I still win. I know two Makers and two CPUs." Her statement quieted the table; IF raised an eyebrow in surprise while everyone else appeared more baffled.

"I mean... the Ladies I get," Gabriel started. "IF I get, but who is the other one? Lou- RED doesn't really hang with girls that much younger than herself." He appeared genuinely curious, as did everyone else. Even IF had had no idea.

"Well, the thing is..." Compa picked up her phone and began to swipe around. "I've known him all my life." Before holding out the device to them, showing a picture of baby Compa in a sleek android's arms, with a kind older man standing next to them. "He is basically my uncle. Well, technically, grandpa made him my mother's godfather."

When no response was forthcoming, she pulled the phone back to open another image to show them, this one with Steamax holding a young, peach-haired girl by the hand. "I guess I might as well say it here; I usually don't because it's just bragging, but we all know Makers here so it's fine."

After another few moments of baffled silence, Gabriel and Alexis broke into laughter. IF just shook her head with a fond smile and André's expression hardly changed. The large man gave Compa a nod and spoke over his colleagues: "That's fair. You win." Both laughing agents offered thumbs ups of agreement, though their mirth yet continued; Compa smiled as well.

A bit of time passed until all of them were back to normal; be it a coincidence or actually her plan, Compa's interjection had lightened the mood some more.

"Anyway," Gabriel began once he got a hold of himself, "how did your mom and the kids take the news? Oh, don't look at me like that," he continued over the frown he received, "she is basically your mom." He meant Mari, and he was right.

IF was in a weird situation, she found; Mari basically acted like a surrogate mother to her, but so did Neptune. She had known Mari so much longer, yet Neptune knew much more about her at this point. However, she became sheepish about the topic this time. "I, uh, haven't told her yet."

The others gave her surprised faces, with Alexis asking the question they all thought: "You told us before them?"

"Kind of?" IF had not planned for it to go like this, but this was what happened. "I thought you guys wouldn't have time that soon, and I'm not sure how to break the news to her yet." The others nodded understandingly and she took a sip from her cup. "This is still overwhelming two days later."

"Heh, I can imagine." Gabriel shared a wry smile with her and the conversation turned to other topics from there.

Now there was only one other group to tell the news to.

**. .**

**. .**

The following day, she was on her way. IF walked down a familiar path, unchanged even more than half a year after she left. Like it always had been.

Shaking off that thought, she conciously stopped herself from wandering down the side path as she used to, taking the door instead. The man on the counter only glanced up from his work and waved her through; she had known him for many years, and he knew her well enough to know what she was there for.

IF nodded at him in passing and went through familiar corridors until she reached the main hallway. She knew where everything was from memory, yet it felt different; the brunette stopped to look around, noting how the sight felt almost melancholic to her.

Which was when she was spotted.

"It's IF!" someone shouted and soon the tapping of many feet could be heard. She just sighed and prepared for the rush as children of all ages came running to see her. Boys and girls alike came up for hugs, to which she obliged with a fond smile.

Aside from the older ones, some stood back; new faces, IF noted with a weak throbbing in her chest. It was always unfortunate to see someone new in this place. However, she shook off the thought and listened to the younger children babble at her; there were too many to hear any questions, but she did not mind listening.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" A playful voice cut the chatter like a knife; its owner softly walked down the corridor, pink hair falling loosely and lips curled into an easy smile. "A stray child that found her way back home again?"

IF merely shrugged at Mari and put down the boy she was holding. Then she began to smirk and put a hand on her hip. "Quite. This child comes bearing good news." Some of the children giggled and some others rolled their eyes, but neither woman cared for that. They shared a quick hug, then IF was ushered into the main hall to sit with everyone for lunch; even if she had wanted to refuse, the tide of children pushed her along.

In the end, she sat at the centermost table, with Mari opposite to her and many others arrayed around IF in some way. Even many of the older children and teenagers were there out of curiousity, interested in what this woman they all knew had to say.

In fact, even some other members of the staff were listening.

Before IF got to that however, a little girl with purple hair pulled at her sleeve. "Tell us a story? Please?" The idea was immediately echoed all around the room, making Mari sigh lightly; her smile was good-natured, though. IF smiled as well, understanding that they had time.

So she leaned back and thought for a moment, then shrugged at the room in general. "There... hasn't really been a lot happening the last few months, to be honest. Guildwork is boring once the novelty wears off." She pondered for a moment. "We are just patrolling and fight monsters once in a while, mostly Dogoos that almost everyone in this room could kill." Which said a lot, considering that this included the ten-year-olds. "Some Wolves and Boxbirds, too."

Her musing was interrupted by a cough from Mari. "Dear, 'some Wolves and Boxbirds' are not nothing for most people." A surge of embarassment went through IF over the reminder; she completely forgot that. She nodded slowly, but kept thinking because none of these encounters had really stayed in her memory.

"Hm, we did have to fight a group of Bit drones recently." As she spoke, she already saw the children's eyes light up and knew they wanted this story. Not that there was much of one, and IF refused to make something up.

Closing her eyes for a moment, the young woman thought back to that day while folding her hands in her lap; it had been little more than a short encounter. "Okay, so this was a bit more than two weeks ago. Our shift was almost over, sunset near. Nepgear and I had little else to do that day, but then our operator picked up weird signals." She cast a glance around, but nobody appeared lost so far, so she continued. "He said those are normal for corrupted Bits, so we prepared for subduing them."

IF frowned as she recalled the specifics. "Does anyone know why Bits are hard to fight?" she asked the group, finding many little arms shooting into the air as if they were in a classroom.

Smiling, she pointed at a red-haired boy sitting near Mari; he beamed at her. "It's 'cause they are armoured!"

"Correct," IF praised. "Bits are supposed to fight monsters and therefore heavily armoured. Most people can't just break them with brute force, and no amount of speed is going to give you a good angle on them. Well, technically."

There was a short pause as she cast a look around. "You have to know, they actually build a weakpoint into these drones, so that they can be taken down if they run out of control. It takes only a buttonpress to unlock the hatch on their backs; almost impossible to do for monsters, but easy for us."

She smiled softly when thinking back. "They came from where the railways to Lowee are and there were six of them, so we split up to take down three each. Bits are difficult opponents, but not too bad; they can't turn anymore if you keep a hold of them, and they can only shoot forward."

Naturally, handholds had also been installed in these drones to ease fighting them for humans. "So the problem is to get behind them without getting shot. I can't really say much about how Nepgear did it, but I just slid through below the first one." Anti-gravity really was nice in that regard; Bits were nothing but floating orbs, so one could get around them on all sides.

"Then I went around the second one just to be safe; they had a triangle-formation going, so being where I was, the third Bit had trouble aiming at me." She thought back about how fast things had gone in these moments. "It really is little more than pressing a button; then I cut the cables below the hatch, and the Bit dropped to the ground."

She was not a good storyteller, but the curious faces around her told IF that it did not matter much. The children wanted a story from _her_, after all.

"After that, I did my sliding trick again and took out another, and then again for the last one. It worked every time. Nepgear was already done before me." Which was not all that difficult for a CPU, naturally.

She remained in a slightly awkward silence while the children began to whisper with each other; Mari just smiled, so IF left it at that.

However, the pinkette gave her a curious look after a few seconds. "So, what were you actually here for? The holidays aren't that far away." And they already made plans for then. Plans that IF could no longer keep up with. Perhaps it was the look on her face, but Mari apparently guessed part of the matter; the pinkette smiled mischievously. "Could it be that you have been promoted already?"

IF returned the smile weakly as she began to feel for her brooch. "Yeah, something like that. I will be pretty busy soon enough, and I already know I can't be here over the holidays."

She put the brooch on the table on the last word with an audible click; hearing surprised gasps and seeing Mari's composure fall away widened her smile until she basically beamed. "Got promoted a lot, and the twenty-second was already set aside for me."

The silence that followed was almost deafening; it held for but a moment and was replaced by cheer as any child old enough to understand the significance of that brooch surged forward to congratulate her. Those too young got the matter explained to them while the staff's surprise was overshadowed by knowing smiles. Mari just... beamed.

With all the children around her however, IF frowned a little and let her Awakening push outward for a moment; everyone was pushed away and awed silence returned to the room as she went through her pockets. "On that note... ah, there." She pulled out an envelope and pushed it over to Mari, who took it curiously. "The first row is almost all yours."

As the one who this ceremony was about, IF was allowed to invite friends or family. Outside of Compa and her old team, that meant all the tickets Neptune gave her went to Mari. The next few rows were already sold out as usual.

Mari, surprised and happy, chuckled to play over it while pocketing the envelope. "I see; don't worry, I will make sure to fill up every seat." They both knew there were more people interested than tickets; she would probably hold a tournament or something like that to decide who got to come along.

Food was served at around this time, and IF found a generous helping placed in front of herself as well; the man handing it out gave her a pat on the head and congratulated her as well before carrying on; Mari chuckled again and got to eating.

Before IF could dig in however, someone pulled at her sleeve for attention; a young boy with shining eyes. "So, so have you met the Lady?" It was an honest question, one that made the brunette smile.

Noticing that many others were badly hiding that they listened in on them, she put on a conspiratory expression. "Yeah, I did. Don't tell anyone, but I know Lady Purple Sister, too." She could see some more children start to get excited, but Mari pointedly cleared her throat to get everyone back to their food.

IF had half a mind to wait until the pinkette was eating or drinking again, but figured that would be too mean. So she put on a defiant smile. "Also Ladies Black Heart and Black Sister."

Mari's fork paused in mid-air and she gave IF a baffled look, which was soon replaced by amusement.

Those around them began to whisper with each other; IF could tell that she would be stuck answering questions for a while. Not that she minded it much.

So she smiled and dug in, the taste of the food strangely nostalgic.


	41. Divine Interlude-First of the Candidates

_The growth of deities is similar to that of humans. CPUs are born older, at about the appearance of an eight-year old human child. They are immediately capable of communicating, interacting with their world, and learning properly. However, young CPUs grow only half as fast as humans; the common formula for how old they appear is eight plus half their actual age. However, the process stops entirely upon achieving their apotheosis; from then on, they are locked into the appearance they had at that point._

-Histoire

_And yet they all fall in the end._

-A§"o!§e

* * *

There is a place between waking and sleeping, between life and death. A constant stream of where existence and unexistence touch, converging. Creation and destruction are one there, beginning and end a circle.

In a timeless instant, one was born. In a timeless eon, they grew and waited. This being knew something would happen; they had no idea what, but they knew nonetheless. Conscious thought came naturally, fleeting though it was in this space.

For an instant, this being saw all that ever was spread out in front of itself. Knowing, naturally, that what had been seen would be gone the moment something happened. No memory of this place would remain.

Yet the being was not sad, but patiently waited for another instant; to their amazement, knowledge began to fill their head. Their, _her_ nation, Planeptune. The nation's protector, _her_ sibling.

Then she felt herself connecting to another existence. A subtle bond that she knew would last a true eternity, not the moments that felt eternal to her. She could feel this other being's presence.

However, she knew little of the world that lay ahead. Her purpose was as clear as day, but everything else remained fleeting.

She could remember, and she could think. She could see all that came before her for an instant longer, and beheld it with awe. Even if it went forever erased from her memory, the impression the past had left on her would remain until the day all existence ended.

The stream around her began to coalesce, octarine quickly blossoming into pure silver. She knew what this meant; the moment of her birth was close. Her very being began to ripple in anticipation, wanting to meet her sibling and see what Gamindustri would be like.

Understanding followed as all became light. Her name was...

**::**

An hour of free time was nice, Neptune mused. She liked to spend a bit of each day just lazing around. Work was sparse these days, though she had never been naive enough to believe it would stay this way. At the very least, it would pick up in volume once the night ended; as usual.

Nonetheless, a cup of pudding in hand, knowing that Histoire sat at work and could catch any emergencies, Neptune remained content. Her nation ran smoothly despite the existential danger lurking beyond the walls she built for her people.

From one moment to the next however, she felt something change and darted to her feet. Her Share influx, normally steady, wavered for long moments. It settled quickly, but Neptune knew something happened.

Deep within her very being, she could feel it. The flow of her Shares was different; split. Just a small trickle that no longer went to her, but enough to be noticeable.

Jumping up and quickly finishing her pudding, the purple-haired CPU lost little time dashing for the door; past her office where Histoire was working, down to 400. Aside from housing the Maker's lounge, this storey held Planeptune's Share Crystal.

In general, it was an add-on in regard to Sharicite Engineering; not directly necessary. The Share Crystal was meant to gather a CPUs Share Energy before directing it to that CPU, its main use being for administrative and statistical purposes; the Share throughput could be analysed and compared to that of other nations.

As Neptune now learned, another function of it was to focus abnormalities in the secured area a Share Crystal would obviously be deposited in. She could feel that whatever happened, it happened there.

Deep within the CPU, a relentless mind had already produced a hypothesis. One that filled her with anticipation and dread alike; even though she felt herself connected to another and this normally only happened in one specific occasion, she did not dare hope before having confirmed it with her own eyes.

The room was tightly locked, with only her and Histoire holding the key blueprint. Keys did not even exist, seeing that both of them could easily create one out of Sharicite whenever necessary. Which was exactly what Neptune did, opening the heavy doors a moment later.

The soft, silver glow of her Share Crystal greeted her, yet the palpable warmth it relayed her way went unnoticed; her eyes were glued to the little girl sitting in front of the crystal, looking back with wonder.

The moment their eyes met, both pairs lilac, Neptune knew that she had fallen in love. For the first time in over five hundred years, the entirety of her being stopped, admiring and adoring the little frame. She knew that this was the presence she felt, could feel being connected to her on an almost instinctual level.

For the first time since she was born, Neptune truly had a family. A Candidate. _Her_ Candidate.

Her sister.

In this first moment of their meeting, they both knew this as a fact. Neither of them averted their gaze, they simply took each other in.

This eternity took but a handful of seconds, silence broken when the child spoke up: "Um, you are my big sister, right?" She knew it as well as Neptune, yet she asked for confirmation. The older CPU understood that wish just fine; she, too, could hardly believe what was in front of her.

"Yeah," she whispered, warmth in even just that one word. She quickly dashed forward until she knelt before her sister, who did not shy away in the slightest; they did not know each other, but the little one instinctually knew she was safe.

Only when she came to rest in front of the little girl did Neptune realise that her Candidate was stark naked. Silver light rolled over her rosy skin, inhumanly unblemished just like Neptune's own. It was just an idle observation, put aside as neither of them cared for it.

Neptune's smile had rarely ever been as bright when she brought her sister into their first embrace. "Yeah, I am your sister." No greeting or welcoming was needed; she was here, and both of them were happy with that. "What's your name?"

The newborn thought about that for a moment, her own arms snaking around Neptune's shoulders and squeezing her in a gentle hug that would have been life-ending to a human. "Nepgear. What is yours?"

She half-mumbled the question into her older sister's shirt, who cooed and began to pet her head, daintily running her fingers through the girl's shock of purple hair. "I'm Neptune; we match." Much to her dismay, Nepgear only nodded against her; she did not get to hear her sister's adorable voice again. It did not deter her for long, though. "Let's get you home first," she told the newborn softly. "Can you make clothes?"

Her sister held still for a moment, arms wrapped around Neptune. Then she weakly shook her head. "I can't. Is that bad, Neptune?" Her own name had never sounded better, she found.

With warmth surging through her entire being, the petite woman picked her sister up in a princess carry. "Nah, it's fine. I couldn't do it immediately, either. You will learn it in time." She twirled around a few times and admired how the light played over her baby sister's skin, the very image of perfection. Nepgear giggled cheerfully and clutched her tightly, giving her a shy kiss on the cheek.

Neptune chuckled in response and dashed off, quickly sealing the room again. It was the middle of night, so nobody held them up; not that anyone would have done so during the day, either. Nobody dwelled this far up in Planeptower without permission.

It was not a long journey, yet Neptune rarely ever felt more alive. The small body in her arms was so much more firm than any child she ever held, yet so fragile. Nepgear could withstand grenades with little more than bruises already, but at the same time, the older CPU knew that there would be so much worse trials than that awaiting her.

And it was up to her to prepare her sister. Nepgear was her Candidate. Hers, and nobody elses.

Her family.

Such a simple word, yet one that Planeptune's Purple Heart had never truly associated with herself before. Even when Noire had proposed to her, offered her life and her nation to bind them together, even then Neptune had not felt like she did now.

For the first and only time in four hundred years was her mind truly at peace. Even the echo of Arfoire's voice could not reach her in these moments of bliss, as she held her newborn sister and ascended the stairs toward her, no, _their_ home.

"Neptune?" Nepgear asked her on the way, eyes wide with curiousity as she looked around, "this is Planeptower, right? Do we live here?" Her question told the older CPU that her sister did not come without knowledge; Neptune simply nodded in response.

"Yup, our home is right at the top, where we can see the entire city and far, far into the distance." She made a stop at the office, noting that the lights were on and Histoire at work. Closing in, the door slid open to reveal everything as it always was; Neptune made a mental note to have a third desk installed.

Once she and Nepgear poked their heads in however, they found the Tome's avatar already facing them with a friendly smile. "I see you noticed her already. It is quite a pleasant surprise to have a new face around."

With these words, Histoire took to the air and maneuvered her main body toward the awestruck Candidate; Nepgear shily hid behind her sister a moment later, though her eyes never left the Tome. "You are Histoire, right?" She was hesitant, but obviously curious as well. The woman herself nodded benignly and lowered herself to Nepgear's eye level.

"Quite. It is a pleasure, Nepgear. You are quite the lucky girl, having been born as the Purple Sister. Neptune will certainly take good care of you."

Her pleasant tone and voice quickly coaxed the little girl from her hiding spot, the Tome's words making her smile and nod in agreement. Neptune found it drop-dead adorable, especially when they shook hands, with Histoire holding but three of Nepgear's fingers.

After finishing her introduction to the newborn CPU, the blonde turned her attention to Neptune and offered her a smile. "I... believe you should take the next week off to spend with her. I will compose her curriculum during that time, and you can introduce Gamindustri to her." Nepgear brightened at the prospect of knowledge, giddily hopping by Neptune's side and grabbing her hand out of excitement.

The older CPU took it with a smile, which was then extended to Histoire. "Sure thing. Thank you." That the Tome educated all CPUs was a given, seeing how no human could keep up with them for long. That she took over Neptune's workload so she could be with her sister... was not. It was a kind gesture, one which she was grateful for.

"Think nothing of it," she was told in response. Then Histoire's gaze wandered back to Nepgear. "To think that Planeptune received a Candidate, and the first of her generation on top of it."

"Huh? I am the first?" The news appeared to surprise Nepgear, though she was mostly curious; her bouncing became a little less pronounced, but she did not dig deeper when Histoire just nodded.

That in mind, Neptune had to admit that it may not be such a nice thing to be first. It might potentially take centuries until another Candidate was born, which would leave Nepgear without a peer. Without a friend like Noire was Neptune's friend.

She would have become a much different person, had it not been for the friends she had. She dearly hoped there would be more Candidates soon.

For now however, she had tasks to fulfill, which was why she softly squeezed her sister's hand and threw her Oracle a smile. "I'm gonna go play with Nepgear then. Don't worry, I'll do some work when she sleeps; and I'm definitely gonna be back to show her off to everyone." Her smirk elicited a chuckle from Histoire, who nodded in response. Then she waved and wandered off, Nepgear strolling along without prompting. The younger sister copied what she just saw and waved goodbye as well.

It was but moments until they reached the place Neptune called home. Yet, for the first time in her life, it was with the prospect of sharing that home. She had the occasional sleepover with friends of course, but it was different this time. "So, this is your home now. Our home. Wanna look around?"

She reluctantly let go of Nepgear's hand to give her a chance to walk by herself; as the younger CPU nodded however, she also took a hold of Neptune's skirt and followed her every step. The action almost made her squeal in joy.

After a quick tour of the necessities she mainly had for her human friends, they stood before the door to her room. "And this," Neptune finished cheerfully, "used to be my room. Now it's ours. I have to get some more furniture for you first, though. We can share my bed for now."

"Okay." Nepgear looked up at her with a soft smile, though she became a little confused when Neptune pushed her forward a little. "Um, do you want me to go first?"

"Yup, this is now your room, too. Go ahead and take a look."

So Nepgear took a step forward and grabbed for the door's handle. She then proceeded to press it down and pull, only to crush it in her hand and then rip it out of the door wholesale.

Neptune blinked at the casual destruction while her sister stared at the bent metal in her hands. Her lips began to wobble and tears gathered in her eyes as she looked to the older CPU. "I b-broke it. I'm sorry, sis, I, I..."

By the time she hiccupped, Neptune already had her arms around her. She gently pulled the broken lock and handle out of her sister's hands, then dropped them and held Nepgear close. "Shh, it's fine. I know you didn't mean to. Don't cry, Nepgear." She softly cooed and stroked her back, making the Candidate calm down quickly.

Still teary-eyed, Nepgear slowly let go of her and looked down at the broken mechanism. She did not say anything, but Neptune could guess what went through her head easily enough. That was why she gave her cheek a soft poke and smiled once her attention was back on the older CPU. "It's fine, really. I'll teach you how to rein in your strength and it will be fine. I will fix that in a bit."

While she personally had not needed to learn how to do it, as it came instinctively, Neptune could guess that the same did not apply to her sibling. Perhaps, she reasoned, Candidates did not require the knowledge immediately because they had a guardian sibling.

After a moment of consideration, Neptune picked up her sister and then pushed open the door, admitting them into a room that had seen few changes over the centuries; now it would have to be remodeled, but the CPU did not mind that in the slightest.

Nepgear took in her room with excitement. The spark of joy returned to her eyes as she looked this way and that, making Neptune chuckle. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah. I love it, sis." A handful of words that made the older sister feel warmer again.

She did feel a little playful in these moments, aside from wanting to hear Nepgear say more cute things. "Say, between this room and your big sister, which do you-" "You. I love you more." The response came before she even finished her question, without hesitation. Nepgear quickly wrapped her arms around her in a possessive hug. "I will always love you the most, sis."

Neptune suddenly felt really stupid for having even asked. She pulled her sister into a tight hug and dropped to the ground, just lying there in utter bliss. "Yeah, that was a dumb question." Then she began to run her fingers through Nepgear's hair, the Candidate content with staying in her arms. "Want me to tell you about Gamindustri now? Or do you want to do clothes first?"

Neither of them cared much for it, but Nepgear was still naked and would need to wear clothes once Neptune took her outside. They both knew that and the young CPU considered the matter for several moments. In the end, she looked up at her older sister. "Clothes first."

"Good, good," she cooed before getting up and stepping back a bit. "Do you want anything in particular? I can model it for you to copy, and you can focus on making it." The Ability to weave things out of Share Energy was innate to them after all, though clothes were the most complex thing a newborn could create most of the time.

Nepgear thought about this long and hard, frowning as she tried to conceptualise words she knew the meaning of yet never truly saw. In time, her mind reached a term she quite liked and the Candidate's eyes lit up. "Something cute."

Delighted by her sister's reaction and the prospect of getting her to look more adorable, Neptune immediately nodded and went through her mental catalogue of dressware. It was much, much smaller than what she knew her fellow CPUs had memorised, Vert in particular, but more than enough to please her sibling.

"Okay then, watch this!" And without further ado, Neptune's own clothes were absorbed back into her body. She stood as nude as her little sister for a moment, then enveloped herself in faint silver light as Share Energy bent to her will and turned into cloth. Within instants, it had formed into a pinkish white sundress reaching down to her calves. The short sleeves and hem were lined with frills, and Neptune struck a pose with her arms stretched behind her back, smiling at Nepgear. "How do I look?"

"Great! You look great, sis! And cute and pretty and everything," Nepgear gushed while her eyes flitted over the soft cloth. "I wanna have one!" And following her announcement, she, too, was enveloped in silver light.

It was brighter and took not instants but close to ten seconds, but Nepgear ultimately managed to weave an exact replica of the dress Neptune had shown her. The young Candidate beamed in joy at her success while her sister patted her head approvingly. "Good work, you look adorable," the older one cooed. Then however, she smiled and pulled up Nepgear's dress to check. "Buuuut you forgot the panties."

"Panties?"

Neptune lifted her own dress to show her, making the Candidate frown in confusion as she dutifully copied her sister's choice in underwear. "Sis, why do people wear that? I get normal clothes if they are cold, but why a second layer?"

The older CPU chuckled and pulled her sister back into an embrace and to the ground. "Well, you know... as deities, we are sterile. That little vagina you have there can't bear any children, but that is what it's for for humans." Nepgear nodded, already aware of both matters. Neptune continued with a fond smile: "So, see, especially in a dress, it can get cold there, so you have underwear to keep it warm. It also helps against chafing if you wear pants; those are quite sensitive."

"Huh." Nepgear curiously put a hand on her crotch to sense the feeling, then shrugged at her sister. "It just tickles a little, is it really?"

Those words made Neptune chuckle. "You shouldn't think about it too much for now, most of us CPUs don't really use ours much. We can get back to the topic if you're a bit older, if you want." Once the Candidate nodded, she cuddled her closer into her side and sighed happily.

They spent the next few hours talking about Gamindustri and the four nations, as well as every other topic Nepgear was curious about. Neptune happily changed the subject at the drop of a hat whenever it was demanded of her, filling her sister's head with trivia that she knew might be needed sooner or later.

She also considered feeding the newborn. CPUs did not require sustenance, but they still had a sense of taste and could enjoy the act of eating.

In the end however, that idea was postponed for a later time.

Yet, at the same time, she was presented with a conundrum; due to Nepgear's inability to control her strength, most activities Neptune could think of were unsuitable for her sister at the moment. It removed everything that required her taking anything into her hands, which did not leave much to do at home.

Daybreak was still two hours away, thus going out on a stroll together remained a bad idea for the time being.

Granted, she _could_ have continued cuddling with her little sister and telling her things for days, or at least until Nepgear fell asleep, but Neptune felt this would be a waste. She wanted her sibling to see as much as possible, as soon as possible.

"Neptune? Sis?" Nepgear's concerned voice brought her out of her thoughts, the Candidate's face right in front of her own. "Um, did I do something wrong? You're frowning."

The older CPU blinked at her for a moment, then pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. "No, I'm just busy thinking about what to do now. Anything you want to do?"

Nepgear hummed in consideration and turned her head to look around, hands still wound around Neptune's waist. Her eyes went this way and that, discarding the books, the personal computer, and several other things on the way. In the end, the younger CPU shily turned back to her sister. "I do not. Um, do you have anything you want to do, sis?"

Which brought her back to the original problem. Neptune pondered for a moment longer, but then an idea presented itself. It made her smile mischievously. "Hmmm... wanna see the other CPUs and say hello?"

Just like that, Nepgear's eyes began to shine and they knew what to do next. Neptune chuckled while pushing herself up, her sister in her lap one moment but up on her feet in the next. She hopped up and down in excitement, quickly following her out of the room.

"Anyway," she mused aloud as they strolled down the stairs again, "I think I'll introduce you to them, then we can get to work on your strength. You need to work hard on controlling it so you can do all the fun stuff." Her sister nodded quickly, jumping down the last few stairs and onto her back. "Hehe, hey there." She just caught Nepgear and let her cling to her for the few metres they had left. "And I'm pretty sure you need to catch some sleep soon, too."

"That is quite true," Histoire greeted her warmly. "Newborn CPUs require a sleeping cycle of eighteen hours awake and eight hours asleep. Seeing that Nepgear has not yet slept, she may get tired at any point throughout the coming day."

Only then did the Tome turn her avatar's head to greet them. "May I assume you are here to brag to your colleagues, Neptune?"

"Oh why, Histy, you know me so well," the older CPU returned with a bright smile; it made Histoire chuckle. Nepgear tilted her head a little, soaking up the interactions into her limited number of experiences to draw from. Then she yawned, drawing a telling look from the Tome. Neptune chuckled and petted her head. "You wanna go to bed, or meet the gals first?"

"Hm... I can stay awake a bit longer," the Candidate declared after a moment of thought. She quickly blinked a few times to cast the tiredness away and looked at her sister expectantly.

Neptune obliged her and wandered to her own desk, slumping into the wide chair. "Alrighty, come over here." She patted her lap and Nepgear obediently climbed on; she turned around until she could nestle into her older sister's front, with one of Neptune's arms wrapped around her.

After booting up her computer, she drowned every other CPU in messages and mails to get their Scope online. That done, Neptune quickly slid a few papers from the small pile Histoire had levitated over to her desk. Nepgear watched curiously, reading the words but failing to comprehend most before they were pushed aside, signed and stamped.

After a scant few minutes, Neptune, who had kept an eye on Scope to await her friends, smirked and put a headset over her ears. Nepgear got her spare attached and curiously eyed the piece of technology. "Okay, say nothing for now, okay? I'll tell you when it is time." Nepgear nodded.

That done, Neptune entered the voice chat cheerfully. "There you are, about time! You've got to see this!" The arm she had around her sister tightened possessively, though Nepgear did not seem to mind it at all. She simply watched and listened.

"This better be important," Noire grumbled to rustling sounds in the background. "It's crunchtime over here."

"It's _always_ crunchtime in your office," Neptune shot back playfully, which drew chuckles from Vert and Blanc. "Anyway, it's really, really, really big. And you've got to let me see your faces when I show you."

"My, how intriguing." Vert became already visible on the last word, her golden hair shining in the light. She held an easy smile, though her eyes kept wandering over the screen. Neptune could see a controller sitting at the edge of the camera's view, so she knew the leanboxian CPU would be quite cross with her if this was not important.

"This better be worth our time," Blanc provided immediately after, echoing Noire and putting into words what Vert was thinking. Neptune's smile grew from mischievous to outright gleeful while both Black and White CPUs appeared, with all three of them in their offices.

"Yup, it is. Now then, ladies, behold!"

When she turned on her own camera, she could see the moment the image was transmitted. Of her, seated in her large chair, with a girl much younger yet looking so alike on her lap. They even wore matching dresses, as Neptune had never changed her own clothes.

The moment they saw, all three CPUs paused. Their eyes were fixated on their screens for an entire second, telling Neptune just how little they had expected this.

Nepgear, understanding that this was her sign, shily raised a hand in greeting. "Um, hello. I am Planeptune's Purple Sister, Nepgear."

Her words broke the spell and each deity blinked at the Candidate. Vert was the first to regain her benign smile, leaning closer to look over the child. "My, what a sweet girl you are." She chuckled when Nepgear blushed and hid her face. "I am looking forward to meeting you in person."

After saying that, her eyes wandered slightly. "You _are_ planning to bring her here for a few days soon, I hope?"

Neptune shrugged at that. "She's a few hours old, so maybe next month or so? I'm probably showing her every nation, so you two should prepare to have Nepgear, too." Noire huffed while Blanc sighed and leaned back.

The lastationite CPU eyed them for a moment longer before her expression became soft again. "I will see what I can do. Do any plans change because of this?" There was warmth in her voice, telling Neptune that her friend was happy for her. Also envious, but that was obvious.

Having actual family was something they all yearned for at times.

"Neptune." Blance's voice sounded calm as usual, though her eyebrow remained raised. When she turned her attention with a quick "Yep?", Lowee's ruler sighed in disbelief. "She's asleep. And has been since Vert talked to her."

"Huh?" As she had just been told, her little sister was fast asleep, clutching her dress weakly. Neptune squealed quietly and pulled her a little closer. Then she turned her attention back to Noire, a smile on her face. "Nothing of the big plans. I'll be here only sporadically for the next week, and after that we will see. Thanks for making the time. Godspeed, ladies."

She quickly signed off and carefully picked her sister up, giving Histoire a nod. The Tome returned her gesture and levitated the remaining papers back to her own desk.

Meanwhile, Neptune hurried up the stairs and into her room to tuck her sister in.


	42. Among Legends 1

_The attempt has been made before, let me assure you. Monsters are unable to spawn anywhere near human beings, so a previous CPU strategically scattered his followers over large swathes of land. His goal was to deny Her any space to materialise Her creatures, but this did not end well._

_For we learned that the strength of spawned monsters is inversely proportional to the area they can spawn in; the more concentrated their essence is on Gamindustri, the stronger they spawn. I still shiver thinking back to those days, when Grey Heart fell to the Ruler of Monsters and his defenseless nation was overrun._

-Histoire

* * *

The last day of the Summer Solstice had been tense as everyone awaited the reveal of Planeptune's next Maker.

Curiously, as Purple Heart held a short speech about the peace and tranquility among Gamindustri's people, some noticed that the first row was filled with children. A handful of adults stood with them, but most were not even teenagers.

Seeing that this day would see another Maker's appointment, both RED and Steamax were present. They stood to the side together with Purple Sister, though they were not clad in any formal wear. Not that it would have mattered, for the Candidate by their side easily would have overshadowed them both.

When Purple Heart finished to excited applause, the younger CPU stepped forward to speak as well, a wide smile on her face. She waited until the applause subsided by itself, obviously part of the general excitement herself.

"I do not see the need to echo my sister's words to you all," she began. "It pleases me that despite all the hardships we face every day, all of you stand here with us right now. Today is a day of celebration, of joy that I hope the entire nation will share with us." Music began to play as she spoke, heralding the actual ceremony.

Some murmuring and excited chatter started up, but quickly ceased when the CPU continued. "For today, we will be welcoming a third Maker into our ranks once again. It has been a while since Tokai left us... though I can see her in the second row." Her flat tone led to some barks of laughter while the previous Maker showed her Lady a peace-sign from where she sat.

Purple Sister merely shook her head with a fond smile. "Well, if you were waiting to see your successor, you will have to wait no more."

As the music became somewhat louder, the wide doors at the hall's back were thrown open and, much like during the CPU's own ceremony, a single figure stood there. The force of her Awakening could be felt by all, though it was quickly drowned out by the presence of two goddesses even before her power receded.

There stood IF, expression serious yet bright, who began to take measured steps toward the stage in front. Her blue coat fluttered in the breeze from outside.

There was some murmuring as she passed; some people who recognised her from around town became more excited, as did the children in front. Those she showed an actual smile as she neared.

"I am truly happy to see a new star rise for Planeptune," Purple Sister continued happily. Not much later, IF had reached the front; her eyes went to the staircase nearby for a moment, then she rolled her eyes and jumped up, clearing the three metres of height with ease, a flash of Awakening sensible.

When she turned around to overlook the room, Purple Sister stepped next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "As such, Maker IF will serve Planeptune from today on."

Thundering applause and cheer filled the room, easily several times as intense as what the CPUs had received so far. By herself, IF only barely managed not to blush; her smile brightened a little more in the process, though.

She was here now. She made it to where she always wanted to be.

Bowing her head to the people she was now sworn to protect, IF took note of how loud the children in the front were cheering. Mari and Compa clapped happily, and her old team was only barely less enthusiastic.

She remained in this position for a few moments while Neptune stepped next to her, the CPU's own face graced by a fond smile. They turned toward each other and shook hands. Nepgear followed right after and handed her a microphone; neither deity required one, but they did insist she tell the people a few words at least.

IF cast a glance to her benefactor, then to the crowd that quickly grew quiet. She tapped the device once to see if it worked properly, then nodded to herself and began to smirk. It was time for the revenge she had planned. It may teach Neptune not to make her hold speeches.

Quietly apologising to all the parents and caretakers out there, she began. "Ahem, I, uh, have no fancy words for you all, but my Lady insisted. So instead of going over the usual phrases, let me share some interesting knowledge with you: Lady Purple Heart is a picky eater."

By the way Neptune's smile froze on her face, she knew it had the intended effects. The crowd hung on IF's lips when she continued gleefully: "As she will not, has never, and will never eat eggplants. As I was told, she can even smell them out of a stew that had them added as paste. So to all the children out there that do not want to eat their greens: you _should_, but you can always point to your Lady not eating hers, either. Thank you."

The children cheered. Most adults laughed. Some parents were horrified. It was a good day.

Casting a smug look to Neptune, she found the goddess giving her an appreciative look and a wry smile. Even Nepgear chuckled.

One point to IF.

She returned the microphone to a mirthful Nepgear and barely managed to catch RED's high five when her fellow Maker stormed over, giggling helplessly. "That was the absolute _best_ speech I heard in my life. You go, girl!" Then she hugged IF, to more cheering from the crowd. Even those who did not hear her could guess what was said well enough.

A moment later, she was swung through the air when the more petite woman put some strength into their embrace. "Anyway, tehe, welcome to the Makers." She was put back down and received a blinding smile. "I'm sure we'll get along great!"

"Yeah, let's work hard together." IF returned the smile and turned to Steamax, who had walked up as well to shake her hand.

"Quite," the android noted with a hint of humour in his modulated voice as they shook. "I will be looking forward to working with you."

"It seems," Purple Heart's measured yet amused voice made the room quiet in an instant, "that I found myself a feisty one." The CPU stood with her arms crossed, though her posture only exuded pride. "I do have high hopes for you, my dear IF. Despite your youth. Now however," she ended with a glance at the people in front of them, "I think it is time for the parade."

**. .**

**. .**

A warm breeze stroked IF's cheek, the open windows letting it in. They had relocated to the Makers' lounge after the procession, together with quite a lot of people. For this day alone, Neptune had allowed to open the area for her guests, as was customary when a new Maker was appointed.

She had managed to calm down from having the entire nation's attention on herself at this point, partly thanks to everyone else providing enough of a distraction.

Mari was currently chatting with RED while a gaggle of younger children curiously petted her dragon; a few others excitedly talked to Steamax and some others were running around to see as much as possible.

No Neptune or Nepgear, though, they were both busy.

Sighing happily, IF opened her eyes again and smiled at her friends. "This is a little different than I expected it to be on my technically first day, but it's a nice change of pace." The others nodded in agreement.

"I totally didn't expect you to jump up to the stage," Compa told her cheerfully. "It was really impressive, you know?"

"She's right." Hubert agreed with his girlfriend readily, smiling as benignly as she did. "That was a really nice way to show off your Awakening." Compa nodded in agreement.

IF quietly took the praise and smiled; she had improvised in that moment, but it felt like a good decision. Gabriel, who stood nearby, snickered again and gave her a slap on the shoulder. "Well, your speech was definitely the best part. Haven't had such a good laugh in a while." He just received a wry smile from her.

"I figured you would like it. My Lady insisted I hold a speech about something, so she got what she deserved." He snorted and Hubert laughed as well.

"Quite," another voice joined their conversation. Turning her head, IF found Steamax standing with them; the children he had spoken to earlier had come along, at least most of them. Some had gone to pet RED's dragon or explore. "It was a refreshing experience to be sure. Few dare to be like this with the Lady, even though she does not mind."

He nodded at the group as a whole, then turned to Compa with a certain warmth in his voice. "It is a little surprising to have you here, dear." The young woman beamed happily and hugged him close, which only drew a chuckle. The children looked on in confusion.

"Of course I am, IF is my friend after all." It sounded so simple as a statement, but hearing it said out loud made her feel a little happier still.

Steamax chuckled and stroked his niece's back. "I see. It is good to see you both made such great friends then." Compa chuckled in turn and let go, still smiling. Then however, the android's head turned slightly toward her boyfriend. "And you must be Hubert; I already heard a lot about you, it's a pleasure."

The two shook hands and Hubert was ushered aside so Steamax could speak to him in private. IF cast a glance to her friend, who shrugged. "I guess he is just curious?"

Whatever response the brunette wanted to give, another voice cheerfully chimed into their conversation: "So you're his cute niece? I was looking forward to meeting you sometime." RED joined them just like that, another gaggle of children in tow that converged on the small group of adults. Mari was with her as well, quiet for the time being as she stood next to IF.

Compa just fiddled with her blouse in a slightly embarassed manner, which made RED giggle. "No need to be shy, I don't bite. Uh, unless my partner, yeah no, let's leave it at that." She quickly stopped herself from finishing the statement with a glance at the children surrounding them.

This time, Mari and Alexis were the only ones who chuckled; Compa remained embarassed, IF and Gabriel shook their heads. André simply huffed in fond exasperation.

"Well, anyway," RED caught the conversation and wrapped Compa in a tight hug. "I'm happy to meet you, Steamax already told me a lot... what, did you think your man would be the only one to get our interest?" Some giggling could be heard while Compa slowly relaxed into the embrace.

"I guess so... um, it's nice to meet you as well, Lady RED." The younger woman was let go with a pat on the shoulder.

The older one nodded cheerfully before pushing her occupied shoulder toward her. "Come on, you pet Ryuki, too. He tsuns about it, but he likes his headpats." There was a term IF did not really understand, though most others apparently did, so she did not ask.

Compa hesitated for a moment before reaching out, running first one finger and then more over the creature's scaly head. It barely even blinked at her, sitting still as always. "Um, am I doing it wrong?"

"Nah," RED told her quickly, "he's just a lazy butt. Doesn't move for anything except fighting and food. Here, I'll show you. Come on, Ryuki, let go."

She pulled lightly on the parts wound around her waist like cords of steel, and the dragon released its grip just like that. Its body loosened and unwound, quickly reaching a surprising length as the tail end pooled on the ground. RED picked her pet off her shoulder and held it up, showing how there were no more limbs aside from the first pair of arms.

Then she took a step forward and placed the dragon on Compa's head. IF noted how her front immediately bowed forward a little, the other girl visibly surprised. She was also a little scared and awed.

As several moments passed and nothing happened, she slowly righted herself and lost the fear. Ryuki simply remained as a statue, tail still touching the ground even from being at eye level with IF.

"...he's heavy. I had no idea."

"Oh come on, he's just sixty pounds or so," RED returned with a snort. "That's not... wait." She blinked at Compa again and rubbed her eyes. "Whoops! Sorry, I forget that at times." She quickly took the dragon back and placed it on her shoulder, the previously unoccupied one, IF noticed.

Now Gabriel laughed at her, to which the redhead only stuck out her tongue.

**. .**

**. .**

All in all, it was a pleasant afternoon. Everyone got along well and the atmosphere was elated.

When she went to bed that night, IF was still hyped and had trouble falling asleep. She forewent half of her daily exercises to make time for the ceremony and everything that followed, which left her with excess energy she normally did not have.

By the time she fell asleep, the clock had long since struck one.

When she woke up at six, IF decided she rather not be tired during her first day as a Maker, and promptly did the unthinkable: she stayed in bed for another two hours, dozing to at least rest a little bit more.

A few hours later, she was riding the elevator in Planeptower after a surreal walk; people kept making room for her, smiling her way, _bowing_. IF had not considered what becoming a Maker would do to her everyday life, and even now she was only alienated by the tip of the iceberg.

When she stepped out on the highest storey and wandered through the hallways, she still felt a little weird. She had come to accept where she now stood, yet the new routine would still need a few weeks to feel normal to her.

Opening the door to the lounge, she found it already occupied by Steamax, who was reading some kind of magazine; the android raised his head and offered her a nod. "Ah, IF. Good morning."

"Good morning," she greeted back while entering and quickly took a seat opposite to him. "How are you?"

"Oh, same old, same old." Steamax chuckled and put his reading material away before IF could see what it was. "You will have to wait for RED a little longer; she is not much of a morning person."

IF cast a telling look at the display on the wall telling them the time. Steamax chuckled. "Well, yes. It is good to see you are punctual."

"Not as punctual as you, apparently." It was still five minutes before their shift started officially, from ten in the morning to six in the evening. The android waved it off benignly.

"It is good you both are," another voice chimed in from the door; turning, they found Nepgear standing there with a bright smile. "Good morning, you two." Once they greeted her back, the CPU entered and looked them over. "I was planning to go hunting and wanted you to accompany me. RED will be on standby in the meantime. We have a pack of Fenrirs and some Giant Dogoos near Pachin."

They both got up immediately; IF understood that this was her job now, though the prospect of fighting Fenrirs was not a nice one. They were like wolves, but five times bigger on average. Also many times stronger, and almost as nimble as their smaller cousins.

Nonetheless, she wanted this and so she would not hesitate.

Nepgear smiled over their prompt response and motioned for them to follow. "Come along, I will be your pilot today." The purplette quickly led the way down a few storeys, tapping out a message to RED on her N-Gear on the way.

Mid-walk, Nepgear began to shine and her clothes shifted, turning from the usual shirt and skirt into a flowing purple robe, with a veil hiding her face. Even her hair was hidden from sight within moments.

IF observed the process with interest; she had seen it once in a while over the years, but never stopped being amazed by how fluidly the cloth shifted its properties. Colours and patterns, size, length, even texture. Sharicite could take basically any property there was.

They reached a medium-sized hangar with a handful of gliders soon after. At least that was how they were called; IF found them rather more plump than the name implied: about twenty metres in length, with two stubby wings that had small plasma mortars and heavy machine guns mounted. What held such a machine in the air were its anti-gravity engines.

Nepgear quickly unlocked the backdoor and opened it, letting IF and Steamax follow her inside; the purplette had wandered over to the pilot's seat in front by the time they closed the doors, running checks with deft fingers.

"It will be about ninety minutes to Pachin, so you should make yourself comfortable," the android told her sagely. IF nodded and sat down opposite to him, noting the arrayed seats left and right. Not close enough to be cramped, but it would be more or less uncomfortable if the entire transport was filled.

Meanwhile, Nepgear had slid into the seat and pulled back her veil; some screens still displayed notifications about running checks, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary so far. The CPU turned back to them with an encouraging smile. "Histoire prepared a more detailed report; I will add it to the glider's system once we are in the air, so you can read it in peace."

The last diagnosis returned no problems, making Nepgear smile as she started up the engines and had the hangar doors on the wall slide back. They were in the air a moment later, going northwest.

Pachin, IF recalled, was closest to the loweean border and their main trading hub with the Land of White Serenity.

Once she actually looked at the numbers however, her eyebrows rose considerably. Steamax did not hold one of the tablets connected to the glider, but he had a cable linked to his waist; he definitely saw the same things she did, though she could not read his expression.

"Uh, Nepgear?" When the purplette made an affirmative noise, IF asked her question: "What's up with those numbers? Is it normal for Makers to fight that many at once?"

For the report mentioned no less than eleven Fenrirs and four Giant Dogoos, as well as an Ancient Dragon, a creature of which IF had vivid memories. Either way, she thought that so many of them would normally be left to the military, or at least a full team of Makers instead of one Maker and a newbie.

"Well, yes. Though even if they weren't, the problem here is that the monsters aren't marching on Pachin yet; we would need a large-scale military operation to wipe them out in one swipe, else we risk startling them and all the smaller monsters around them into an attack." And they both knew this was ill-advised. As well as the cities were defended, Gamindustrian strategy rarely liked having to test these defenses needlessly.

IF nodded in understanding and looked over the map. The Fenrirs were rather close together, the Giant Dogoos forming their own clique a bit to the side, and the Dragon some distance away from either group. "I see. And with so many of them, the Guild can't send anyone to at least run pest control, either."

"Exactly."

"And this is a test for me."

"Cor..." Nepgear cut off her own response and sighed. "Please do not put words in my mouth." IF just smirked, knowing that she was most likely right. From the thumbs up Steamax showed her, she figured that he thought similarly.

The android studied the material a little longer before turning his attention to IF. "Now, I did hear that you are quite capable." He chuckled over how her eyebrow rose, then continued pleasantly: "As such, I would like for you to set the targets today. We usually switch planning around so everyone gets to do some of it, and sometimes we all work together. This situation is rather straightforward, as far as I can see. Some large monsters interspersed with medium-sized groups of smaller ones."

He pointed at Nepgear in the pilot's seat. "You have Lady Nepgear, yourself, and me at your disposal. It very much is a test, but I doubt you will be angry with us for wanting to set your baseline in as controlled an environment as possible."

IF sighed and shook her head while she pulled up the map. She was not mad at them. "I'm not; it's obvious that I have to prove myself first." With how young she was, she expected many hardships yet to come. However, IF was not deterred by that; she stood where she always wanted to be, so she would give it her all and more to live this dream.

Steamax nodded in understanding and left her to her own devices; IF brooded over the map for a while, looking over guessed numbers for the smaller monsters and frowning. Then she cast a glance at the android. "Care to tell me your specs? I can guess Nepgear will be good at anything I assign her to, but I know too little about you."

He remained quiet for a few moments, then IF saw her screen change; the tabs she had open minimised themselves and another took their place, a model of Steamax with the capabilities and specifics of his weaponry noted, as well as his output capacities and other information.

"This should be faster," he explained when she cast a glance at him. His voice was as benign as usual, but also approving for a reason she could not figure out.

Nodding at the android, IF took a look over his specs; several beamsabers, plasma casters, an inbuilt-generator, anti-grav module, cloaking field, radar and smokescreen...

"So... you're more suited to fight stealthily?" He nodded. "What about Awakening? This doesn't say anything about it." He shook his head instead of answering, which told her enough. "Alright, thank you."

She had figured he might not be able to, being a machine and all. Then again, he was the first and only one of his kind, so everything was possible. IF took another look over the map, then at Nepgear. Whatever she set her friend on would be dead posthaste, and Nepgear was obviously the strongest member of this team.

After thinking about how their capabilities could work together and playing around with the numbers a little, IF soon noted that only about ten minutes were left until they reached their destination. She blinked and leaned back in her seat.

"Okay, so let's see. I think it's best if we split up for this; Nepgear, you deal with the Fenrirs while I try the Giant Dogoos." The purplette confirmed her position with an "Okay" while IF turned to their remaining member. "And I want you on pest control, Steamax. Make sure they can't gather, break larger groups up, and kill as many as you can on the way."

"Understood."

"What about the Dragon?" Nepgear reminded her of that matter, to which IF quickly added the last part of her idea.

"We engage it once everything else was taken care of. I really don't want anything to jump at us while we fight that." She had one brush with death fighting one of those before, she rather not have another.

They both mulled that over for a minute as they closed on the trade city; looking outside, IF found that the planeptunian summer had made her nation's vast pastures blossom with flowers. They were separated only by lush forests and sparkling lakes.

The inside of their glider was air-conditioned; it was hot outside, she knew that and did not look forward to fighting under the sun.

"That sounds workable," Nepgear finally allowed; knowing how her friend usually spoke, IF knew she did not come up with a particularly good plan. The CPU turned back to her with a soft smile. "The idea is good, you just need to try putting more detail into it next time, and maybe let us know more of your thoughts."

IF accepted the criticism; she had no idea what Steamax was really capable of, so telling him how to do his things was a dumb idea in her opinion.

"I concur," the android chimed in benignly. "It is a solid foundation without doubt, everything else you might need will follow in time. I believe we will arrive soon and should get ready." He was right, the two women both knew that.

As Nepgear returned full attention to her controls, IF checked her equipment again to make sure everything was where it should be. She slipped out of her coat and fixed her pistol's holster, then paused in consideration.

For the enemies ahead, no firearm would be enough. Unless she brought an actual plasma caster, which would weigh her down quite a bit, IF would not be able to significantly hurt any monster of the size they were hunting that day.

However, it was a useful enough distraction to shoot one in the eye. So she did not strip off the holster and finished fixing it against her thigh. The weapon could not fall out no matter what kind of acrobatics she had to do.

Following that, she carefully strapped on her katars, making sure they sat as perfectly as they possibly could. IF knew Steamax was watching her while his internal routines ran checkups, but paid him no mind. She clipped her headset on, adjusting it a little to not get in conflict with the ear protector, and took a deep breath.

When the scenery stopped passing by and became more or less stationary, she knew it was time.

Nepgear clicked some buttons and nodded, then slid out of her seat and transformed in a shimmer of gentle light. Steamax opened the doors to reveal the ground deep below; he began to hover out of the vehicle as the CPU moved over to IF and held a hand out to her. She took it and stepped close, being taken into a soft hold that made her feel at ease. Nepgear easily picked her up and flew right after the android.

Their glider would remain a few hundred metres in the air, far away from any danger. The little bit of power lost on this safety measure was ultimately a small price if it mitigated the risk of losing the machine.

While Steamax zipped away and flicked a beamsaber to life in his hand, Nepgear and IF hovered downward in a spiral; they were almost right above the Giant Dogoos.

Her heart had been beating fast before, but now IF became tranquil. As she beheld her enemies, her body tensed in anticipation. Purple Sister smiled.

"Good luck," the CPU wished her after setting her down. One of the large monsters had noticed them and was hopping closer in open curiousity, but she quickly darted past it; moments later, she was hundreds of metres away and tore into the closest Fenrir.

IF ignored the wind and loud pop of air, turning her full attention to the Giant Dogoos. Many smaller ones and some Boxbirds were going about their nonsensical business around them.

Looking around, the young woman found that most monsters were concentrated around her main targets. So she decided to ignore them and began to pluck from her magic. Fire was an easy option, seeing that most creatures here were susceptible to it.

The monsters began to approach her when the young woman felt her magic buildup reach her limit. She drew from her Awakening and made it strengthen her legs, then quickly picked up speed before crouching and _jumping_ fifteen metres into the air. Her momentum and angle made her turn so she was upside down above the monsters, hands stretched out.

And then flame burst forth, singing her palms on the way out. It bathed one Giant Dogoo and many of its smaller brethren, setting Boxbirds alight. Light began to flash as the monsters melted and burned.

It was only a burst of a half-second, perhaps even less, but when IF crushed two Dogoo's under her Awakening-covered feet, only the giant version was still there. Particles quickly evaporated where her flames had struck, and the grass was still alight.

Nodding to herself, she leaned back to dodge a lunging Dogoo and stepped back into the circle of death she created. Looking for the remaining big monsters revealed that they were closing in.

She still had a second or two, though; enough to finish what she started. IF darted toward the partly molten giant and activated her Awakening fully. For but a moment, she was shrouded in power and the swing of her blades carried much further than it ever would have. Her enemy was messily cleaved in two, dispersing into particles as it died.

Turning around fully, IF beheld her remaining enemies and found nothing but the same opponents. She took a deep breath to loosen the tension a little, then plucked more of her magic from within.

In the end, she simply repeated the process she used on the first Giant Dogoo without much problem. Sometimes she varied the angle of the blasts to catch more enemies in a forward-facing cone instead, but it worked and so she needed no new strategy.

As she ran some healing magic through her arms, IF sighed; she had no actual burns this time, thanks to Neptune's tutelage, but her efficiency was still abysmal. She used up about a fourth of her SP on just these four Giant Dogoos, and sweat was pouring down her frame from the enhanced attacks she used to cut them.

Naturally, a melee-focussed fighter's worst opponent were just these Giant Dogoos, seeing that they, just like their smaller versions, could latch onto any normal weapon and engulf it together with the wielder before digesting both.

IF knew that, but she was unhappy nonetheless.

Once she caught her breath, the young woman tapped her headset. "IF speaking, I'm done. How is it going?" She looked around, over the hundred square metres of burned ground, and wondered if all of her battlefields would look like that now.

"Steamax speaking, a lot of wolves, but nothing dangerous. My count is at four hundred and ten."

"Purple speaking, I got nine, uh, ten, uh, all of the Fenrirs." Nepgear's report was accompanied by the howls of dying monsters. "Sorry, I would have been faster, but one of them kept running and dodging."

"It has been two minutes, Lady Purple," Steamax supplied. IF blinked in surprise and checked the time, finding that he was right. It had felt longer. "But if we are all done, we should reconvene at IF's position and move toward the Dragon now."

"Good idea, I'm on my way."

IF shrugged to herself and looked around again. "Sure, just look for the place where everything is burned down, you can't miss it." Nepgear chuckled, prompting IF to do the same for a moment.

She did not have to wait long, finding a purple streak coming her way within seconds; Nepgear quickly slowed down to behold the barren field, a wry smile on her face as she lowered herself next to the brunette.

"Do you still think you don't belong?" Her question held honest curiousity, but also a certain smugness that IF knew she deserved in the face of what she had done here.

"Oh shut up, will you?" She still did not want to hear it, though the CPU only laughed.

Steamax reached them a minute later, hovering only the slightest bit above ground; he nodded at the two women, then pointed toward their last opponent for the day.

IF stepped back into Nepgear's arms and was carried, the two airborne fighters quickly taking up speed as they approached the monster. It was already watching them and roared as they neared, all sense of surprise lost.

"Throw me," she managed to shout over the rushing air. Nepgear blinked in surprise, but complied and sped up.

A moment later, IF had her aura flow out and protect her; the CPU let go and threw her toward the towering monster.

IF crossed her blades and pushed the entire shroud forward, into her head, chest, arms, and weapons. It was barely enough time even with her enhanced mind before she crashed into the living wall.

The Ancient Dragon did not die. It took a deep cut into its chest, but that was not enough.

However, the sheer force behind IF's impact, combined with the fact her unbreakable force of will was made manifest as her shield, gave the momentum only one way to go. She did not kill the monster, but she most certainly bowled it over, extending the cut as she flew a few metres further.

She landed on her enhanced hands and did a few backflips before the rest of her momentum was bled off; once she stood, she found the angry monster in the process of getting up from the ground.

Only that plasma rained down on its face from where Steamax stood, before Purple Sister impacted it from above. The CPU's sword tore right through the opening IF's own blade had created, her attack creating a second shockwave similar to that of the human warrior.

The Ancient Dragon fell limp as it was bisected, dispersing into particles like all the other monsters. Only a small crater remained where it fell and tore the ground apart.

As her Awakening came to rest, the danger having passed, IF took deep breaths and looked around for more hostiles. Nepgear and Steamax did similarly, but none of them found anything of note.

"Well," the CPU said after a momentary pause, "it seems we are done." She smiled contently and IF joined her soon after.

It had been about five minutes since they began their mission.

Nepgear picked her back up and the three of them flew back to the glider. On the way, IF regarded the burned ground where she fought. "Is it always over that quickly?" She knew fights rarely took long, but had figured it would not be that fast.

"At times," Steamax offered, then pointed at the woman carrying her. "We got this done quite a bit faster because Lady Purple Sister assisted us today. It usually takes longer, especially if we have to take care of a bigger group like this one. Though I can not remember any mission that lasted longer than thirty minutes."

She took that in thoughtfully; it was true that her own engagements as a Guild agent had never lasted long, either. Even fighting the Ancient Dragon years prior did not actually take that long, despite every moment feeling like a lifetime.

A CPU's presence was a game changer, after all.

But that did not mean much; she could get it done by herself, and they all knew that now. IF was happy knowing that and looked forward to some time to calm down on the cleanup.


	43. Among Legends 2

_We do not talk about 404. Tis a silly year, just pretend it does not exist._

-Unknown CPU

* * *

Sitting down, IF let out a sigh over the prospect of another ninety minutes in transition. "I have to admit, I didn't expect that being a Maker will be mostly sitting around."

Steamax chuckled as he fixed his seatbelt, one of his eyeslits blinking in what she figured was a wink. "It is not that much unless we have to go to the borders. Battle rarely takes long, but we usually have several engagements with monsters each day. Today has simply been a calm day." Which was obviously code for them not wanting to overburden her immediately, IF thought.

Once Nepgear had undone the lock on their ride's controls, she turned them around and flew off. IF kept her eyes on the window and watched the area she just fought in. As they left, a swarm of drones moved in to search the area for hostiles. The Guild had returned to work, scouting the area in case the army would have to sweep up the remnants.

Her colleague's modulated voice took IF out of her observations when he addressed her: "You did well." Turning, she found Steamax with his head slightly lowered in thought. "Most newcomers I saw over the years were rather overwhelmed after their first battle. You look a little tired."

"...Thanks." There really was little else to say, though it did make her glad to know she was performing well enough. Considering that her clothes were damp with sweat however, she attributed his rather positive assessment to the fact he likely lacked a sense of smell. Though IF had to admit that she was not exhausted just yet; her magic reserves were still above the halfway point, and her body took well enough to the few instances of Awakening she had to make use of so far.

Granted, as long as one had a way to hit them without touching, Giant Dogoos were easy in comparison to most of the other monsters.

The android simply nodded and they remained quiet on the journey back.

As the afternoon slowly encroached on them, IF's clothes gradually dried until she could put her coat back on. She took the time to relax and check herself over with healing magic just in case. During the last few minutes of their journey home, Nepgear spoke up from the pilot's seat: "I think we can stop pretending today is a regular day for you. We normally would shoo you two out to another assignment immediately, but you get off the hook this time."

IF frowned at that while Steamax chuckled, but Nepgear gently cut off any attempt to talk back: "I know you are ready for it, but you should still take today to get used to how things work. Take the rest of the day off and know what to expect tomorrow."

Even when delivered benignly, IF could tell it was an order. She sighed, leaning back in her seat and accepting her fate.

**. .**

**. .**

The sun was high in the sky when she wandered the streets of Nicos. Many parts of the city lay in shadow during certain times of day, but there was none to be found with the light bearing down from almost right above. Planeptower's vast canopy was the only source of twilight and IF found some people walk the streets with parasols. Most likely loweean tourists.

Her coat got some looks, but most people did not seem to pay it much mind; their attention was much more focussed on IF in general. Eyes kept following her, people respectfully stepped aside to let her pass, children waved and squealed when she waved back, it was surreal in a way. No one had ever paid much attention to IF, now everyone did.

Shaking off those thoughts, the young woman considered what to fill her free afternoon with; going home already felt like a waste.

Then someone called out to her. "Excuse me, Lady IF?" In such a respectful manner that she had to pause and consider if it was really her they spoke to. IF turned her head toward the speaker, finding a man slightly taller than herself. He was dressed in a shirt and shorts, wearing a friendly smile.

Once she looked at him, the man stepped closer and held a business card out to her. "I'm Clovis Segal, from Hedgehog News, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." IF blinked and took the card, putting it into her pocket after a quick glance. "I was wondering if you would have time for a short interview?"

That, she realised, she really should have expected. Hedgehog News was one of Planeptune's leading newspapers after all, as archaic as it sounded in this nation. Next to all the computer screens, people were delighted to have actual paper to read from once in a while.

It had not really sunk in so far, but she became famous basically over night.

Considering that she was free for the day and had nothing to do, IF figured that it could not hurt and nodded. "Sure."

"Fantastic!" He clapped his hands in delight and offered her a wide smile. "I'm glad to get this chance; may I buy you lunch as a thank you?" His offer was a bit of a surprise, though IF did not mind the friendliness.

"Of course, thank you." She motioned for the journalist to lead the way, following his rather sedate pace. At least it was sedate in her opinion. They quickly made their way through the shopping district and to a nearby restaurant; none of the particularly fancy places IF knew were around, but it was definitely a step above where she would usually go with her friends.

All the way, people kept on whispering when they saw her; it was a little unnerving, even while she knew they were not talking badly about her.

The staff of the restaurant immediately noticed her as well, and the two of them were led to a free table. With their orders taken moments later, it was down to her and Clovis looking at each other. He appeared to be a few years older than her and a little more sturdy in his build, though IF could not say for sure; she did not interact with many men for some reason, so she could not really compare.

Being interviewed was not exactly _new_ to her, either. She had accepted a few interviews back in the day, after the incident with the Ancient Dragon.

Granted, Neptune had told her half of the answers she was supposed to give to make sure she did not receive undue attention ahead of time. Now however, IF was on her own and had to figure out how to go about this. She took a sip of water that had already been provided, nodding at Clovis to get started. He quickly brought out a tablet to keep notes, never losing his smile as he did.

The questions, IF found, were indeed rather basic and easy to answer. Nothing about current politics or internal affairs, the latter of which she was not sure she was allowed to talk about in the first place.

How did she feel as a new Maker, what did she expect from her position, what were her thoughts about being particularly young, some questions about the Ancient Dragon from two years prior, it continued like this.

The man obviously did his research about her, but remained respectful and did not push for answers where she did not want to give them.

What IF did answer, she answered truthfully and once they had eaten, she left a rather happy journalist. It made sense to her, too; no matter her own feelings on the matter, she was now a public persona. Being the first one to interview her directly would obviously be an achievement.

With the question of lunch taken care of, IF found herself back at wondering how to spend her day. She considered this before simply deciding to take a long walk. It was quite relaxing to do that, not to mention that any crowded place would mean more attention.

People kept on greeting her on her stroll, especially older folk; it was as if the events from two years ago began to repeat themselves. Only that IF now started to realise it would not stop. She was a Maker and planned to stay one for a long while.

"Oh joy..."

Her comment was quiet when she said it, followed by a deep breath. Neptune never really said anything about the matter, but she could see how obvious it had been. Of course people paid attention to the Makers. The heroes of the realm.

A few minutes later, once she had entered her favourite park and taken some distance to the other people around, IF drew her phone. As expected, Neptune picked up immediately. "Yes yes, Iffy? Are you quitting?" Her question was nonchalant; they both knew the answer anyway.

"No. Just curious about something." She waited for a moment while Neptune hummed and told her to go on, brows furrowed slightly. "How much attention can I expect from the media?"

The resulting laughter was not encouraging. Neptune giggled for a while, leaving IF to sit down on a bench and lean back to watch the canopy above. When the purplette answered, it was with an amused tone: "Oh Isa, you're going to get swamped in them. First come the interviews, then _more_ interviews, then the talk shows, then they will start offering you gigs to play in commercials and so on."

IF just heaved a sigh, which prompted more giggling. "Heh, don't worry. You just have to say no." Neptune did not appear to be concerned at all. "I mean, I'm sure you would rock any underwear-commercials they get you for, but we both know you really don't want to do that kind of thing."

She rolled her eyes; with how self-concious she was, that would certainly never happen. Just the idea had her blush already.

"Don't think too much about it. It's even worse for us CPUs, y'know?" She had not known that. "Nepgear and Uni keep complaining, but I know each of them took some of those requests and boy can I tell you, having a CPU's face on your advertising makes business boom."

That was news to her; IF raised an eyebrow at no one in particular and decided to look up what her friends had been doing. Knowing them, it was probably engineering-related. "On a guess, Nepgear promoted her favourite tech-manufacturers?"

"Corrrrrect! A hundred points for Isa!" Now she had to chuckle while Neptune continued being silly.

**. .**

**. .**

The next few days continued like this one had; only that, instead of getting to fight one larger group of monsters, they zipped around the country fighting any number between one and a dozen. Giant Dogoos, Fenrirs, Dolphins, Whales, Ancient Dragons. IF had seen no Phoenixes yet, but figured she would get the chance in due time. More large monsters existed, but they were not seen in Planeptune as often as those few types.

For some reason however, she did not end up dead tired every day like RED teased she would be; IF was not the most lively after two to ten engagements depending on travel time, but she did manage to stay awake until her regular bedtime without much trouble.

Another problem she had to face theses days were the reporters, though. They began to seek her out every waking hour that she was not at work. On her third day on the job, IF decided that it was enough and began to tell them no. Outside of a few interviews that did interest her, every offer was refused. She also turned down everyone who approached her during morning exercises or on the way to work on principle.

She found that at least the other citizens were not as bothersome; even as days turned into weeks and the flood of requests slowly subsided, everyone kept on treating her with respect and insisted on accomodating her. As, for example, she had not have to stand in line at the supermarket at all ever since.

Two weeks in, IF sat together with her fellow Makers in the lounge. It was a slow day and they spent their time playing cards.

"So, how do you guys deal with the media attention?" She was honestly curious about this, though the first response she got from both of them was a shrug.

"I honestly just told them no and you're already doing that," RED answered after folding her cards and putting them down. The redhead wore an easy smile and gave IF a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Iffy. It should go back a lot over the next month or so. Maybe a little longer because you're so young, that has everyone excited and curious."

It made sense, though she did not have to like it.

"Quite." Steamax calmly put a card onto the pile and turned back to her afterward. "I have been a Maker for many years now, so people no longer flood me in requests. I still get my fair share, and you can believe me that it was awful when I was first appointed. You may be young, but I am unique as an android."

IF nodded understandingly; she could imagine the kind of attention such a matter would get. "But it slowed down after a while?"

"A few years, really." He did not sound too bothered. "At least it would have been, if Lady Neptune's prediction had been correct." He chuckled. "Seeing that the program I was built in is still not public knowledge, and people kept on asking about that together with other such matters... well. I simply kept answering most questions in an interview with 'That is classified'. It did not take more than a month for them to stop asking."

Both women chuckled over the tale. "That's mean," RED noted mirthfully. "I love it."

"And you got one over Nep, that's a nice bonus." IF received agreeing nods from her colleagues; she held an easy smile in such a relaxed atmosphere.

It became a little more strained when a fourth voice chimed in loudly: "Guess what, it's your favourite Nep!" And there she was, standing in the doorframe with a bright grin and raised arms. "I bring good news and will gracefully overlook that you just made fun of me like the benevolent ruler I am!"

"Benevolent rulers don't eavesdrop on their subordinates," IF shot back while RED continued to giggle. Steamax simply turned toward Neptune to wait for the news.

"Not normally, true. I have the Inquisition for that." Unrepentant, Neptune strolled into the room and hopped on one of the other tables to sit. She gave them all a thumbs up. "Anyway, Leanbox and Lastation currently have a low on monsters, so they don't mind sending us some more hands."

IF blinked at that; she knew Makers were often sent around between the nations to react to higher or lower than average numbers of spawns. She had not expected it to happen this fast.

"Don't look like that, Iffy!" Neptune teased cheerfully. "We're getting Tekken and Falcom!" She threw her arms up again; IF knew it was exaggerated, coming from the purplette, but she did feel some excitement over meeting more of her colleagues as well.

However, her own feelings obviously did not match RED's, who had jumped out of her chair and began to dance around the room. "Yes, my wifeys are coming over!" Steamax just chuckled while IF rolled her eyes.

The redhead quickly plucked Neptune from her table and began to dance with her, displaying the same grace she had in the midst of battle. Both of them were laughing.

**. .**

**. .**

"Looks like you finally found work that fits your power level," Compa supplied with a smile. The following evening saw them in a cafe, IF tired from a monster hunting trek through a good bit of Planeptune.

The brunette merely waved her friend off, who giggled and sipped from her coffee; IF considered her own tea, but left it to cool a little longer. She cast a glance to her friend. "You're not wrong. It's still weird that people keep watching me." True to her words, the majority of other patrons kept stealing glances at her when they thought she was not looking.

Compa shrugged over that, being a little uncomfortable herself. "I get that, I guess? I have people asking me questions about you, too. Not just reporters, my friends want to know more, too." That last part had IF tilt her head, though her friend appeared to think it amusing.

In the end, she just shook her head. "I don't think that is good behaviour. We never really got along, so I won't start talking to them now." It was fairly easy to assume that her fame had brought the attention.

"I agree." Compa shrugged again before taking up her cup. "And I told them that, too." She sipped from it again while IF blinked; she often forgot how harsh her friend could be when she wanted to.

During the pause in their conversation, someone else spoke up: "Do you mind if I sit here?" It was a pleasant female voice coming from behind IF; she did not notice Compa's eyes going wide while turning around, but the refusal died in her throat when she saw who stood there.

Short, red hair framed a mature face with an easy smile that she had seen before; the other woman had a slender build much like IF herself, clad in a blue and white shirt with dark blue shorts. On her hip was a single sheathed blade, and a trolley sat behind her.

"...yes, sure." Completely baffled, IF stood to push her own chair aside a little, allowing the redhead to get seated. She thanked her with a smile while Compa continued to gape.

Maker Falcom, the sword goddess. Easily the most competent human swordswoman on the planet, and allegedly skilled enough to even disarm the Lady Black Sister.

"Sorry to jump you so unexpectedly," the redhead started with an apologeptic smile while grabbing for the menu. "I decided to come a little earlier and get set up for tomorrow, but then I saw pictures of you on Chirper and figured I might as well say hello."

IF nodded slowly, taking in the explanation and ignoring the excited chatter going around the place. Then Falcom's statement registered and she frowned. "Wait, what pictures?"

Quickly snapping open her own phone, the brunette heaved a sigh when she found pictures of Compa and her sitting right where they were. She only barely stopped herself from throwing nasty glares around.

"Yeah, it happens to all of us. I actually recognised the place because RED took me here on a date before." Her fellow Maker just laughed it off and ordered a pudding for herself, together with a lemonade. It was brought out in record time.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, IF." They shook hands while IF returned the greeting; then Falcom's gaze turned to Compa, who almost forgot to breathe under the celebrity's attention. "Who is she? I saw people guessing your girlfriend?"

Now the brunette just sighed. People kept assuming these things for reasons she would likely never understand. "No. That's Compa, and she is straight as an arrow." Her friend waved shily.

She was not finished, though; casting a glance around the room, IF raised her voice: "I'm not seeing anyone at the moment. And _no_, I'm not planning to change that."

It was rather embarassing to basically tell this entire room of strangers about her relationship status, but she really rather do that than have them keep assuming she was dating her friends. That only made her angry.

While there were a mixture of sheepishness and disappointment from the general crowd, the reactions from her own table could not be more different: Compa stared at her, still dazed by being in the presence of two Makers, and Falcom burst into laughter.

The younger women both turned their attention to the Lastationite's display of amusement, neither sure what to make of it. IF was still a little annoyed, though it quickly passed in favour of confusion.

By the end of it, Falcom had her forehead resting on the table, taking deep breaths in-between chuckles. "Oh, haha, whew." She sighed happily and righted herself with a smile. "Sorry, just... I rarely meet people that bold. This kind of thing is what I love Planeptune for." She did not elaborate on what she meant, but IF did not bother thinking about it either.

In hindsight, she realised just what she did and barely managed not to turn scarlet. Her fellow Maker chuckled again and clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it should be fine. That will at least spread the word."

Somehow, they all realised in these moments, they had mostly skipped introductions. Seeing that everyone knew everyone's names anyway though, no one could get herself to bring it up. "Anyway," Falcom continued after a few quiet moments, her eyes on IF. "You look like you had a rough day. Still getting used to the job?"

While the brunette shrugged, Compa could not stop herself from snorting in amusement; it immediately drew the older Maker's attention and a stinkeye from IF. Her friend fidgeted a little under the redhead's gaze, but was not discouraged from explaining: "The last few weeks were the first time in ever I've actually seen her tired. Being a Maker is what it takes to actually wear IF out."

Falcom raised an eyebrow at that, casting a curious glance to IF who refused to meet it. "Oh, is that so? That usually comes after a few months on the job." Then the redhead smiled. "Looks like what I heard from my Lady is accurate. I didn't doubt her," she clarified after getting a surprised look from the brunette, "but I like seeing things for myself."

"That's not what I meant," IF quickly clarified. She sighed and shook her head. "Just... yeah, of course she would talk about me the moment it's out in the open." It had most likely been Uni, she figured. And even if IF was wrong, that could not be taken from how she spoke about the matter.

And in this very moment, she realised that the CPUs _must_ have known. It was impossible for them not to have, being as smart as they were.

"I see." Falcom's words brought her out of the brooding mood, the redhead thoughtful as she considered IF. "Either way, I think we'll get along well."

"Yeah, I hope so." They nodded at each other and IF had to admire how easily Falcom could handle conversations like this; maybe it was the age, seeing that she was eight years their senior.

The Lastationite finished her snack soon after, sighing as she put the cup down. "Ah yes, planeptunian pudding. Anyway, I think it's time to get going; I have to set up camp before RED finds me and drags me off." She chuckled, but IF had to roll her eyes; she could imagine the hyper woman doing that.

Thinking of her, IF checked her phone for chirps about RED, only to find something amusing in her inbox. Then she threw a smirk in Falcom's direction. "Well, I have bad news for you."

"She knows?" The other Maker did not appear surprised.

IF just nodded. "She is waiting outside." Falcom chuckled again and shook her head, then got up with a weak smile, gathering her things.

"Well, I shouldn't let her wait then. It was nice talking to you two. See you around," she told Compa, who nodded happily, "and see you tomorrow," she told IF. The brunette nodded once, seeing her fellow Maker off with a content expression.

About the moment Falcom was out of the glass door, a ballistic RED impacted her; a heartbeat later, the Lastationite was bridal-carried away together with her trolley.

It spoke volumes about RED that people barely batted an eye over her antics.

**::**

Half an hour later, IF was on her own and with the rest of her evening to spend; Compa had a date and excused herself not long after Falcom.

A quick check of her phone on the way home revealed that Chirper did not yet stop exploding with pictures of her and the lastationite Maker at the same table; going there for a while would yield little of interest for her, which meant she had to think of something else.

Nonetheless, she had never expected how much people kept talking about her. The 'official' Chirper-account Neptune had her create was bombarded with questions and requests; she did not have enough time to read even a good part of them, only being able to pick out some things to answer.

Her musing was cut off when she reached home; once through the door, IF hung up her coat and stretched. She put her equipment away, slipped out of her boots, and quickly made for the bathroom to take a shower; it had been a long day after all.

Her thoughts kept circling under the warm water, though. Realisation had begun to sink in; she made it. IF was a Maker, she reached the position she always wanted to hold.

But what now?

Of course she could, and would, keep walking that path; yet she had no idea where it would lead anymore. The path to being a Maker had not been an easy one, but her goal was always in clear sight.

She had never really done this for others, either; IF knew she liked to say it was to protect them, but her main reason had always been her own satisfaction. She was selfish like that, and she knew it.

In the end however, it did not matter much. She had not done this out of obligation, or out of a desire for glory; she had wanted to prove to herself that she could do it.

Now IF stood where few other humans would ever stand, elevated to one of the highest ranks known in Gamindustri. With no idea what to aim for next.

Her mind still revolved around that question when she stepped out of the shower.

A sweep with her fluffy towel and the hairdryer later, IF sat down on her couch with a content sigh; the blue pyjamas were light and wide, giving her skin some time to turn back to normal. The marks left by her rather tight clothes would be back the next day anyway, but this was bliss.

Yet even then, answers to her question were difficult to come by, and asking Neptune for her opinion did not appeal. IF might have asked in most other cases, but this was about what _she_ wanted.

And for all her intelligence, for all her insight, even Neptune could not accurately see the whole that was Isabelle Fontaine. Nobody could, none but Isabelle herself.

The young woman sighed and leaned back, her slightly damp hair cooling her shoulders where it lay; it had grown rather long again, she noticed. That meant she was due to have them cut back to size soon, though IF considered having them shorter than shoulder length this time. After recalling that RED's hair was significantly longer than her own and did not appear to create problems however, she discarded the idea. She got used to her own hair's length and liked it, too.

Toward the end of her considerations, the doorbell rang; IF's head turned in that direction, even though she could not see it from her position. Curious, she got up and strolled over to check; there was no one there. The light on the mailbox was lit instead, so IF quickly opened it up and pulled out a letter; it read 'to Lady IF' in childish, scrawly writing.

Curious, the young woman plopped back down on her couch and opened it with a bit of Awakening and her fingernail. There was not much inside, though; a few lines of text and a hand-drawn picture. Crayons, she figured from the look of it. Nothing special or artistic, either; merely a meadow of dark green lines, a house toward the side, and a yellow sun in the upper right corner.

It was such a simple thing of which she had seen dozens over the years, yet it coaxed a smile out of IF.

She looked it over again, then placed it to her side to check the letter. This was nothing special either, at least not inherently. Just a little boy telling her how he wanted to be strong like her when he grew up.

The same kind of letter she could faintly remember sending to some Makers that were active during her own childhood.

It was not special in a general sense, but to her it was. This, right there, felt more like a validation of where she stood than any official documents or brooches ever could.

As IF got up to get some tape and find a good place to put that picture, she figured that not having a set goal anymore might be alright for a while; she was where she wanted to be, and now it may be time to think about those under her care instead of her own wants.


	44. Among Legends 3

_The more powerful any one Monster, the more important speed becomes; pure strength, while it has its merit and importance, is not enough to combat anything stronger than yourself. That is why no one but some CPUs uses heavy armour._

_For what good is a shield when a single strike tears it, and the person behind it, apart?_

-Maker From

* * *

IF strode into the lounge exactly two minutes before her shift began, just as usual. This day however, she immediately noticed the difference.

Not only was Falcom around, currently engaged in a lively chat with RED, they also had another new arrival sitting a bit to the side and listening. Greyish hair framed a soft-looking face, her red eyes quickly finding IF's as all attention went to the youngest Maker.

Maker Tekken, renowned martial artist and allegedly the physically strongest human in the world. She was clad in blue jeans and a white shirt, appearing surprisingly normal between the much more colourful Makers.

After a quiet moment of taking each other in, IF raised a hand in greeting. "Morning, how is everyone? And where is Steamax?" She only just noticed the android's absence.

The others greeted her in turn as she slumped into the chair next to Tekken, who had a soft smile over being acted with casually. She shrugged lightly, but RED volunteered the information: "He was called in to clean up along the eastern border last night. Won't be back for a while, either."

The other three nodded understandingly, then Tekken turned to adress IF benignly: "I'm glad to see that you're such a friendly girl, IF." She held out a hand for the younger woman to shake, who took it without hesitation. Tekken's grip was strong and they smiled at each other as they shook.

This was the first time IF had heard Tekken speak, and it was strangely endearing to listen to her. Much in difference to her obviously muscular frame, her voice was soft and almost weak in its sound. What she said in the end, though... "Good to see you're not hyper like half of everyone I meet these days."

RED pouted, and Tekken chuckled again; IF almost admitted to herself that she was a little smitten with the dichotomy between her obvious strength and her soft behaviour. However, such trains of thought were put aside because she had more important things to think about. Such as, for example, why Falcom was smirking like that.

"Heh, figured you two would get along," the redhead told her in response to her raised eyebrow. "You both have something sweet to yourselves."

Now she blushed, and could see Tekken become a little red as well from the corner of her eye. IF forced the heat from her cheeks and rolled her eyes at Falcom. Before she could deny it however, RED chimed in cheerfully: "Yep, you're both totally cute! But complimenting each other can wait at least until we're in the field and at work. We have a busy day ahead of us, ladies."

IF knew that already. This day, they would be cleaning up the plains around Nicos. Some Dolphins were flying around, several Turtles had been sighted deeper into Virtua Forest, and a few Phoenixes somehow managed to hide around the hills north of the capital. Larger numbers of weak monsters were sighted around the big ones as well, but the latters' presence made it too risky for the Guild to deploy.

Thinking, IF got up and pressed a button on the wall; the lights dimmed immediately and a holographic display appeared atop the table. Its default state was Nicos itself, so she did not have to change anything.

Even though neither Falcom nor Tekken said anything, she could see them follow everything with an almost childlike curiousity. They had similar displays in her school, so this was not particularly new to IF. She once again noticed how out there some planeptunian innovations had to appear to people from other nations.

The keyboard that unfolded itself from the wall was quickly left to RED, who entered the latest positions of the monsters they knew about, and coloured areas where more were suspected to be.

"Okay," IF started with a sigh, "I think we can all see that there are more places to check than we have people today." The others nodded, with IF doing her best to ignore the weird feeling of taking charge while being the youngest in the room.

RED took over from there. "Hm, and we're all melee fighters; putting everyone next to each other would be bad, we'd get in each other's way. Groups of two should work, or having one group that is spaced out."

IF had the faint suspicion that this had to do with her again, but she could not argue the point even if it was true; her magic, though powerful, could not be used with allies even close to the enemy. She sat back down next to Tekken, who was eyeing the different enemies thoughtfully. Falcom's eyes were mostly on IF, who studied the map and tried to find advantageous positions in the three-dimensional layout.

"Hmm." The redhead tapped a finger on the table, casting glances around before pointing at the largest confirmed group, a mixture of Turtles and Dolphins. "How about we go as one team for those, then split up into pairs for the rest?" She looked at everyone again, but found no protest. "Wonderful, then we will do that. What can you do, IF?"

The brunette shrugged in response, knowing that she was supposed to give her allies a proper rundown of her abilities. "I use twin katars. Aside from that, my pistol will do nothing to monsters of that size. My SP is pretty high, but I can't use magic with you nearby without hurting you."

She already considered what to tell them exactly, and found this being the important details. Both Tekken and Falcom nodded understandingly. "Bother," The leanboxian mumbled mostly to herself, "so many flying enemies and we only have whatever guns the army has to support us." She had her eyes on the map. Falcom heaved a sigh at that and IF shared the sentiment. Flying enemies were _difficult_ to fight when one was groundbound themselves.

"Actually, how _are_ we going to go about those? Can we lure them close enough for the city defenses to pick them off?" IF received thoughtful expressions for her proposal, though it was not one she liked herself. Testing Nicos' defenses like this remained a bad idea. "The only other thing I can think of is to throw someone up if the monsters don't come down to us."

Almost immediately, three voices called out "Not it". IF sat there dumbfounded while her colleagues began to consider this idea as well. With her as the one thrown.

She rolled her eyes while RED giggled about the turn of events, wondering why she did not expect that reaction. Her fellow planeptunian got a hold of herself and made some adjustments to add a row of hovertanks to the map. "The first armoured division will also be present and mop up smaller monsters once we take care of the larger ones."

"Oh, I like that. Having tanks is great." Falcom smiled at them after imparting her wisdom, not that IF could argue the point. Then however, the lastationite's face lit up. "Wait, your tanks can fly, right?" She did not even wait for them to respond: "In that case, we can ride those up to the flying monsters!"

A beat.

"I like the idea," Tekken offered benignly. "So we ask the tank crews if they can give us a ride, and if they refuse, we throw IF."

"Hey!" Unfortunately, her call only led to a bout of laughter.

The youngest of the group decided to endure their mirth and waited for everyone to calm down. Once they were done laughing, Tekken took charge: "That part aside, is it alright if you and I work together when we split up?"

IF's first thought to that question was that she would be quite happy to work with the leanboxian. She stopped herself from actually saying that, though. "Sure."

While IF tried to make herself believe she had no preferences either way, which would be even worse to actually say, the other two Makers quickly voiced their agreement. Were IF more versed in human interaction, she would have been able to gather information from the way the redheads were throwing glances at each other.

After that point, the team quickly hammered out how to proceed from their starting point, going over each confirmed group one by one while the Guild's drones kept searching the uncertain areas. A plan was formed, they went over it a second time to make sure everyone memorised it, and they got up to get going.

As they all got to their feet, IF noted by herself that Falcom stood a little taller than she did; Tekken was about the same height as the brunette as well. Neither of them were small women. Also of note, she realised while following the others to the hangar, was that Tekken wore no shoes. Her feet were bare, yet she moved with nary a sound on the plasteel floor.

IF shook her head and turned her attention back to the task at hand; they had work to do and a designated pilot to bring them there. He gave them a crisp salute from the pilot's seat, then turned back around. "Anytime you're ready." They had already forwarded the plan, so no questions needed to be asked.

The four quickly got themselves seated in their designated pairs, with IF opposite to RED. She shied away from Tekken when their legs touched, trying not to be obvious about it. Unfortunately, the curious look Falcom threw her way told the brunette that she failed in that endeavor.

"We're ready," RED chirped at the pilot, who grunted and started the engine. Their flight was rather short, but not all that quiet. Falcom made conversation as they went, though Tekken remained suspiciously quiet.

Looking at her, IF found the martial artist making herself small in her seat; she cast fearful glances toward the pilot once in a while, squirming further onto IF's seat. The space the younger woman had opened between them was slowly closed once more.

IF had not much of an idea what this was about; she did not spend that much time reading up on her colleagues. There were some notes about Tekken being uncomfortable around men, but neither an explanation nor a description of its severity.

And as she found out now, the matter was quite severe.

After a moment of thinking, IF tapped the leanboxian's shoulder and noted how she stiffened before turning her head. "Do you mind if we switch? I'd like to look out the window." Tekken blinked at her, but quickly nodded her agreement.

They were in steady flight at the moment, so unbuckling their seatbelts and switching their places went without much trouble. Falcom gave IF a searching look by the time she sat down again, to which the brunette shrugged in their colleague's direction. A moment passed, then the lastationite smiled and nodded before turning her attention back to RED, who also wore a smile. IF, meanwhile, cast a look out of the window she could see from this place. Whatever this had been, it was taken care of for now.

In the end, she decided to bring up something she forgot earlier to pass the time: "So, I read that you two are using just a sword and martial arts respectively. Anything else I should know?"

Her fellow Makers turned her way again, RED falling silent to accomodate her; this was not a trivial question after all.

Falcom sheepishly scratched her cheek. "Uh, well, not for me. I have no magic and I don't carry a gun. Don't worry about getting in my way or me getting in yours." She did not appear too bothered by the fact she had no ranged measures whatsoever, but IF understood that. She heard that the sword goddess could have the force of her swings carry even through still air without losing much power.

"Nothing ranged from me," Tekken took over thoughtfully. "Kind of." She opened her palm and had a few spark flicker from it. "I have some SP, but not all that much. And, um, I kind of focussed my magic into augmenting my martial arts, so I'm not good at using it separated from my body."

IF nodded slowly, considering the idea. It was an interesting way to go at the matter in her opinion; she lacked the fine control to do it herself, but figured a few interesting ways to make use of it. In fact, she realised, her own healing magic had a quite similar role, keeping her in the fight for longer than she normally could have been. "I see. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

They both nodded and made to go back to what they were doing, but then they could feel a few light tremors going through their ride. Alert, IF immediately looked out the window... to find a Dolphin nearby, having averted its course under machinegun fire. They could not even hear anything through the soundproofed armour, only feel the light rattling from the weaponry being fired.

IF had not even realised there were gunners on this glider.

Before she could actually do anything, the vehicle's plasma cannon came to life, its projectile impacting the Dolphin's face. The monster recoiled and turned to flee. Then, as it brought some distance between itself and the glider, a larger sphere of plasma from Nicos' border defenses engulfed it.

By the time their windows brightened again, there was no Dolphin left.

"Almost there, you should get ready. Do you want me to sweep down or are you jumping?" The pilot did not even turn to look at them, being focussed on his controls.

Falcom noticed IF's puzzled look and snorted quietly, then called out to the man: "We will go in low today." He just grunted in acknowledgement while everyone unbuckled and did some stretches to warm up. The redhead gave their youngest member a smile and pointed downward. "If you use your Awakening and or magic right, you can just jump out and land safely. I can give you some pointers later."

"Oh, thanks." That was quite nice of her; IF wondered why Neptune had not mentioned this before, or why she did not think of it, but gave up on it soon after as they dove for the ground.

All four Makers had handholds to keep themselves steady until they were near the ground; once there, the doors opened. "Here we are," their pilot shouted, "call me when you're done!" And he had to shout; the moment the doors began to open, the hammering of machineguns and sizzling of plasma became prominent. Smaller monsters were trying to run for their glider and had to be cut down, with the larger ones receiving plasma to their faces.

IF slipped in front and swiped her hand around, a wave of wind throwing all of the attackers back. The guns fell silent and her fellow Makers were in the gap almost immediately. Falcom sliced apart the more solid monsters, with Tekken darting around and killing them by applying precise punches and kicks to their vital areas.

The impressive one was RED, though; IF had seen Ryuki take flight before, yet she still could not help but pause when the snake-like dragon unfolded his thin, long wings. There were four of them, golden like the dragon himself; they produced a loud buzz with the speed of their beats, the tamed monster shooting through the sky. His owner, smiling, immediately darted into the fray as well to dance with both her dragon and the other Makers. With the grace she displayed while her daggers sliced throats and bisected limbs, it really could be called a dance.

IF joined them a moment later and focussed on the Dogoos, the small horde of monsters quickly wiped out against all four of them. They exchanged nods.

Tekken then pointed at where their next opponents were, a group of three Turtles in their colourful shells and plant overgrowth. Something within IF lurched at their sight, almost forgotten memories reminding her of a day long past. She took a deep breath and ignored the feeling, distracting herself by eyeing the half dozen Dolphins circling the Turtles.

"So... how about we use the Turtles as stepping stones to get the Dolphins?" They were close enough to make this possible, and the others quickly agreed. IF sighed and got into position. "Then don't mind if I do."

And she charged, adding a boost from her Awakening to her legs and her mind. The world slowed down as she practically flew over the uneven ground, never once losing her footing. The Turtles, slow even to a normal human, appeared like statues. Dolphins flew in slow motion, barely even having turned their heads to follow her.

Right behind her was the stamping of feet, but she could not afford to look back. IF simply assumed that the other women were right behind her, propelled by their Awakening just like she was.

They reached the first Turtle and jumped, making the six metres up onto its shell easily. From there, IF picked one Dolphin at random and turned to the side; in the instant before she leaped, she could see Tekken prepare to do the same from the corner of her eye.

Then she was off the monster's back and in the air, boosting her Awakening again to turn and align herself; IF's strong muscles allowed her to pull herself around even without a surface to brace herself against.

The airborne monster, unable to turn her way in time, involuntarily presented its neck to her assault. An invitation that IF took, landing blade-first against her enemy's side; it cut into the strong flesh to the hilt, almost breaking her hand had she not pulled it down. IF quickly extended her Awakening through the weapon, cutting right through the Dolphin's head and severing it.

The monster died with a low wail, the moment between its end and the body's dispersing into particles enough for IF to push off of it and return to the Turtle's back.

In the split-second before her landing, she noted that her fellow Makers were going about as fast. Falcom had one Dolphin bisected much like herself, RED just managed to dig her daggers into hers, Tekken's opponent no longer possessed a head... and Ryuki had begun tearing into the fifth Dolphin's head with his maw.

Stepping back onto the Turtle's shell, she immediately reoriented herself and rushed for her next target. This one had oriented itself and was facing her, so IF grabbed for its snout to pull herself up.

She failed to see the icicles Ryuki's Dolphin shot out on time, and was thrown aside by the force of them. Her skin tore, but the shroud's quick activation prevented further damage. IF flew a few metres and quickly flicked backward to bleed off momentum.

A few specks of her own blood dropped to the ground before her healing magic took care of the wound.

The Turtles turned her way while more Dolphins died, the one she had chosen being the last; Falcom moved too fast for IF to make it there in time though, so she turned her attention to the groundbound monsters.

She charged again, but the creature's head quickly retreated into its shell at her approach. IF's eyes narrowed and she made to turn, but then Tekken motioned for her to stay on-course.

There was no time to wonder, no time to hesitate; IF kept going while her fellow Maker landed on the Turtle's shell. Tekken's Awakening pulsed and the leanboxian smashed her fist into its back; the shell cracked and broke, a shockwave of the impact uprooting plants and sending dry earth flying.

The monster's head reemerged, propelled outward by the shock and unexpected pain. A moment later, IF's katar pierced it right in the center, easily sliding through the weaker armour.

She made sure to make it sink in, then pulled it out with the same motion that she swung her other blade into the monster's neck; the Turtle began to groan as it died, but she paid little attention to it.

Turning, IF found the second one being bisected by Falcom, whose Awakening was focussed on her sword to make it reach so much further.

Tekken was already on the third one, making for its back, but IF held back this time so RED could repeat the trick used on the first in her stead. Ryuki just managed to finish tearing his Dolphin's face off and roared as it died; he did sound like a proper Ancient Dragon, despite his small frame suggesting otherwise.

This fight had lasted a handful of seconds; the four women were sweating by the time it was over, though neither of them appeared winded yet. They exchanged high fives and then continued to exterminate the smaller monsters around them. It did not take long and they soon came to stand together, catching their breath.

With the focus of combat fading, IF found herself wondering how this would have gone with just herself; Falcom's control over her Awakening was much better, which allowed to translate a sharp enough blade. The younger Maker could not hope to pierce a Turtle's shell as she was, and neither could she break it like Tekken did. RED excelled in her swiftness and dexterity, too.

"You alright, IF? I saw you got hit by something." Falcom's concerned look almost made her feel bad for worrying the older woman. She shook her head and pointed at the few traces of blood on her belly, the skin in-between whole. "I got my Awakening up before it did much, and I've got healing magic for the rest."

"Ah, that's good to hear." Falcom chuckled and pointed her thumb toward their next target. "We should get going, there is still a lot to do."

RED quickly twirled next to her, ready to go while Tekken bobbed her head benignly. "Sure, take care of yourself." She then motioned for IF to lead the way; even though she was younger, the brunette knew this area quite a bit better after all.

The remainder of the day continued in this vein, though it was just the two of them; IF found Tekken to be someone easy to work with. They complemented each other quite well, too: where IF had an edge in speed and the higher cutting power, her colleague brought pure physical strength to the table. Any armour that IF would have faltered against, Tekken cracked with apparent ease.

There were enough monsters and ground to cover that night had fallen by the time their sweep around Nicos was done.

As the four sat in their glider however, Falcom and RED were distracted from their own thoughts by a soft giggle. Turning their attention to Tekken, they found IF asleep and leaning on the leanboxian's shoulder.

Falcom smiled as well, realising that there was a limit to this young woman as well. The redhead wiped her forehead with a handkerchief and leaned forward to take a closer look. "She really only looks her age when asleep. Never thought I would see someone like her."

"Same," Tekken gave back quietly as she shifted around to make her colleague more comfortable. "She is definitely a cut above the rest." IF did not wake, breathing softly.

The sight prompted a fond smile from Falcom as well, though it quickly turned into a mischievous smirk. The redhead fished her phone out of a pocket and held it up; Tekken, picking up on her intentions, offered a tired smile and leaned her head closer to IF. Once she made a V-sign, the device produced a snapping sound and Falcom nodded. "Great, thanks."

Only for RED to take the phone out of her hand and study it. Her eyes were on the other women as well, stern this time. "She will not be happy with you if this spreads."

"I know, I know. Just keeping this for ourselves. You want it, too?"

In response, the dancer merely pulled out her own phone while handing Falcom's back, who snorted at the sight and quickly sent it. "Either way," RED said while studying the picture with a smile, "I think my Lady has chosen well."

The other two readily agreed with that. IF was still a little slow and not as experienced with her Awakening, but that would follow in time.

"She is cute like that," Tekken mused with another glance at the sleeping woman; she could read the question out of RED's smirk before it was even asked. "Yes, I might be a little interested. I think."

The leanboxian did not sound secure about the matter. Sighing inwardly, Falcom simply leaned over and squeezed her shoulder. "I know you're not good with relationships and stuff, but a casual date might be good for you both. Just go and ask her tomorrow, we have a weekend coming up after all."

"She is eighteen."

"And you're twenty-two, what does it matter? The gap is not that big." Falcom stopped when RED put a hand on her shoulder; the redhead sighed. "Sorry, I'm getting carried away. Just... at least think about it."

That, Tekken would do.


	45. Among Legends 4

_Remember that us who live so long can not entrust so much knowledge to humans; the incursion that brought me to use this vilest of all powers is proof of that. Thus, I ask of you to not even let them know her name. I will be gone very soon, my dear; you are my last creation and also my legacy. I am aware of just what burden I push upon you who has just been born, but there is no other way. Please, Histoire, I beg of you to make sure such a catastrophy can never happen again!_

-Eden's Silver Heart, the old goddess

* * *

Two weeks passed as the Makers worked; Tekken and Falcom were not meant to stay for long, but it was more than enough to clean up the countryside. All larger monsters near the cities were crushed bit by bit; some more spawned during that time, but Nepgear had gone to work on exterminating those.

It was a bit much in IF's opinion. Many of the monsters they fought were not even remotely close to one of their cities, but Neptune told her it was to make the best use of her colleagues' time. After Black Heart and Green Heart already sent them over, just having them sit idle would be rude.

At this point however, IF began to feel tired; adjusting to fighting monsters of this size took longer than she expected. Working hours could be longer than usual, which cut into her little bit of free time. With her being adamant about doing all her exercises and practice, IF was left more and more drained.

The days would likely get a bit less taxing soon, though; their special assignment was to end soon, as their colleagues had to return home.

Rubbing her eyes once again, the young woman closed in on their lounge after leaving the elevator. A mixture of sleep-deprivation and surprise was what prevented her from not fully rounding that particular corner; once the information of what she saw in the corridor was processed by her brain however, IF quietly turned around and went on another way toward her destination.

She definitely did not see two redheads making out right there. And even though she definitely had not seen anything of the like, and could definitely not still hear it as she began her hasty retreat, the rosy colour on her cheeks took a while to fade away.

Only Tekken was there at this time of day, with Steamax being out on a solo mission again. "Good morning," the other Maker greeted IF with a faint smile when she entered.

"Morning." IF sounded about as ready for work as she felt, but that would not stop her from participating. "How are you doing?"

The leanboxian shrugged slightly and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Oh, quite fine; I do look forward to a slower pace, though. It's tiring. How are you?"

"Well enough." It was only half of a lie; IF was mostly tired, but nothing else. Going by the look Tekken gave her, she was not convincing.

They looked at each other for long, uncomfortable moments; then the martial artist sighed and spoke up: "I know I of all people really shouldn't say this, but you should go a little slower for a while. Running yourself ragged now isn't going to do you much good."

IF squinted and shook her head to clear it. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and gave Tekken a serious look. "I know that myself, but I can manage. It should be alright once we slow down again."

"And if more big monsters start spawning tomorrow?" Tekken had a point and IF knew that as well; she was simply too stubborn to just go home as long as she could still work. Lastationite work ethic, Neptune would have called it. Though there was also another reason that not even her Lady knew.

The younger one closed her eyes in thought, wondering how to get out of this without being childish. She only had the truth in that case, and figured she might as well say it. "You're not wrong, but I really have nothing to do aside from sleeping if I go home now. And doing that over the day would ruin my sleep cycle." Or rather, she doubted she could keep herself from going to sleep far too early without anything concrete to occupy her mind.

Tekken frowned slightly and gave her a searching look. "Nothing? Are you sure, no hobbies or anything you can do?"

Seeing that she had yet to find any hobbies, IF merely shook her head. "Nothing aside from exercising."

For some reason, her admission first made Tekken smile, then had her frown deepen immediately after. The leanboxian closed her eyes and tapped her index fingers together for several seconds; it became a rather uncomfortable silence to IF, who felt herself being judged. Had she been more awake to pay attention to her colleague, she would have seen the faint blush on her cheeks ahead of time.

Ultimately, Tekken sighed and opened her eyes to meet IF's. "Then... how about you take me into town today?"

The younger woman sat in surprise; she had not expected _this_ turn of events at all, but she was not oblivious enough to miss she had just been asked out. She considered Tekken again, finding an attractive young woman who just displayed interest in her.

Now, while IF was not that dense, her disassociation with most of her peers left her with little idea about what went on outside of her focus of attention. Otherwise, she may not be as surprised to find someone interested in herself. She had her fair share of admirers throughout school and after, yet none of them had the courage to actually speak with her.

Seeing that this was the first time someone noticeably expressed interest in her, the young woman actually had to think about the matter for a while. Tekken did not meet her gaze as she waited for a response, the brunette being on her own to decide.

In the end, what brought her to a decision was a simple question: why not?

"Sure."

She was quite surprised how much a single word could brighten up the older woman. Tekken _beamed _at her, which made the brunette feel rather sheepish. It was around this time that she realised what exactly she just did; her own cheeks quickly turned pink and she only barely managed not to avert her eyes shily. "Just... I'm probably not good at this. You'd be the first person I ever go out with."

Tekken shook her head, smile unwavering. "That's fine, my sample size is two and I... really do not think either one was impressive. Well, technically three, but that third one was with RED and she doesn't count." The leanboxian paused for a moment and looked around, finding them still alone. "Actually, where is she? And Falcom, toooooooh." The fact IF blushed scarlet in remembrance told her all she needed to know. "Uh..."

Embarassed silence took hold of the room while neither woman looked at the other; IF tried to calm herself while Tekken remained in her own thoughts.

Neither of them was helped by the fact that, seconds later, their missing colleagues strolled into the room. Their clothes were a little bit dissheveled, hastily put back into place, and both women's hair was tousled. RED beamed even more than usual. "Now what's going on here? Anything interesting happen?"

The redheads both got seated while Tekken blushed a little further; IF did similarly, but channeled her embarassment into boldness instead. "Probably not as interesting as what you were up to." Her quip had at least Falcom join the group of red faces.

"Oh, so we're found out already." RED, however, did not appear to be bothered at all. She simply smirked and shrugged. "Well, figures. By the way, you look horrible. Take a day off." Her cheerful tone had not even wavered, making it take a few moments for IF to realise just what had been said to her.

She had already opened her mouth to respond, but a voice from the door stopped her: "Yup, I agree!"

Following her call, Neptune entered with a cheery wave; Nepgear followed right after her, the younger CPU curiously examining the room's atmosphere. The older one had her eyes on IF, who knew she did not look that bad. "Anyway, the brunt of the work is done, so you are taking at least today off. I'm going to ship you to Lowee next week, so you should be well-rested."

IF closed her mouth and sighed; arguing would not help with Neptune.

Looking around, the brunette's eyes fell on Tekken once more, who had managed to get over her embarassment and was watching the scene. A plan began to form and IF got up. "Sure. Have fun on the job, you two," she told RED and Falcom.

Her reaction got a round of surprise from the redheads and purplettes, though Tekken apparently caught onto what she said by the time IF reached her side of the table. "Wait, what about Tek?" Falcom appeared confused, as did RED. Neptune already understood and smirked, but did not say anything.

The leanboxian got up as well, an apologeptic smile on her face. "Sorry, I think I need a break today as well. That is fine, right?" Her question went to Neptune, who gave her a thumbs up and made a shooing motion. Both Makers strolled to the door, though IF could not help but cast a glance back; their remaining colleagues were still dumbfounded, now having to shoulder twice the work.

In this case, IF did not mind leaving them up to it; Falcom she felt sorry for, but RED earned it. Getting to see Neptune baffled like that was a nice bonus.

She also may or may not be curious how going out with someone would be.

That was, until IF realised she had not the slightest idea how it actually worked.

The young woman panicked for a moment and quickly ran through her options of where to gain such knowledge. Then she dropped these notions and sighed. "Just so you know, I don't know anything about... dating." All that indicated her continued embarassment was the slight pause she left.

Tekken shrugged faintly and gave her a reassuring smile, though. "That's fine, I'm not all that sure either. I didn't even think you would say yes, so this is already a step further than I thought it would get."

The admission brought a chuckle out of IF, who could not help but find it funny. "I didn't think I'd say yes, either." Her own admission made the leanboxian snort and they shared a miserable smile.

It was actually quite comforting to know that she was not the only one who had no idea how to do this.

IF's stomach decided to constrict in this moment, reminding her that she did not eat as much this morning; the tiredness had an effect on her appetite. She considered the woman by her side as they rode the elevator down. "How about we grab a bite to eat first and take a stroll around the city?"

Her proposal was considered for a moment before Tekken nodded. "I like the sound of that. You don't mind choosing the place, do you?" She did not just try to be considerate, IF knew; seeing that she was the only native one, her knowledge of the area naturally trumped Tekken's.

"Not at all. We can go check some guides for Nicos and decide where to go over lunch, too." It would be an early lunch, but neither of them minded that. Tekken readily agreed with the idea.

As they left the Basilicom however, IF cast a glance at her companion. "I can't promise some fancy place to eat, though; really not my thing." She figured that with how often she heard about people going to dinner at some restaurant or something like that, there had to be something to it.

Thankfully, Tekken merely shrugged. "Not my thing either, to be honest. I just need enough nutrition for the day and my training." She thought for a moment and cast IF a soft smile. "We seem to think similarly, that's good."

The brunette nodded, happy with the situation that had stopped appearing as unapproachable.

Over the next hour that consisted of leading Tekken to one of her favourite diners and having a hearty meal however, one particular problem revealed itself quite prominently: people around them kept staring.

She tried her best to ignore them and many at least made an effort to leave them both in peace, but there were still enough for IF to feel uncomfortable in the end. Tekken noticed as well, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Yeah, I forgot about that for a while. You're still not used to it."

"That's not it," IF replied quietly, motioning for the two of them. "It's more... this here."

"Oh... yes, I see what you mean." The older woman sighed and finished off her drink. Neither of them had anything left on their plates. "All we can do is ignore it, I guess." Her soft voice held a note of confusion, but IF paid no mind to that.

They left a little later, with the younger woman insisting she pays. With a month under her belt, she had recently received her first paycheck, if it could be called that. "Seriously, I have more money than I know what to do with."

Tekken snorted, but gave an agreeing nod as they wandered the plaza to look at different shops. "Mhm, I know _that_ feeling, too. I'm a simple girl with simple needs." She noted it with faux seriousness that got a laugh out of IF in turn. Then however, the leanboxian gave her a more serious look. "I get it, though; we have to do something few others can, and we risk our lives every day. You should save it for bad times."

"I am," IF returned with a roll of her eyes. "Throwing it out on stuff I don't need is dumb." Though she had to admit by herself that some items had tempted her, now that she had no more need to be frugal.

Tekken merely smiled. "It's good to know that you're responsible like that." Then she looked around at the various storefronts with a sigh. "I really don't think we will find anything interesting here."

While a little sheepish about the compliment, IF could easily agree with her last notion. "Yeah." Except that she had no idea what else to do. Seeing that her kind-of date offered nothing either, she assumed they were both at a loss.

On that assumption, she just suggested something that came to mind easily: "How about we take a walk in Virtua?" No big monsters for a change, just the occasional Dogoo and a chance to actually take in the unbound nature. A warm day in late summer was perfect for that, especially with the clouds protecting them from direct sunlight.

Seeing Tekken's face light up, IF figured her idea was good enough; she led the way and they soon passed the Guild checkpoint before the safe zone. All three agents currently at the post had wide eyes when the two Makers passed by, their hasty bows going ignored.

Once outside, IF took a deep breath; the air was slightly different, she could not deny that. Tekken did similarly and looked around. "So, I heard this place is mostly to get a look at nature untouched by man?" She began to wander in one direction at random, away from Nicos. "We can still go see places in town later, right?"

"Yeah, but let's wait with that until all the tourists are tired." IF threw the leanboxian a wry smile, who chuckled. All the tourists would be around town now, as it was a bit after noon.

"I don't mind that. It's also nice to just... take a walk in peace." Tekken remained quiet afterward, though she became somewhat sheepish after a while. "Though I'm getting a little itchy; I was planning to do my exercises later, but now I probably don't have the time..."

IF focussed for a moment and skewered a pair of Dogoos on shards of ice, then considered what the older one said. Thinking of it, she would also lack the time to finish her own practice and exercises. "Does it count for today if we do that together?"

A little surprised, Tekken punched the air and had her magic carry the attack right into another curious slime monster, which died as quickly as the previous two. "Oh, that might be fun." She put a finger to her cheek. "But I'm not sure... I do _a lot_ more than most of the others, so if that's fine with you?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

**. .**

**. .**

In the evening, two exhausted women were lying next to each other; faces flushed, drenched in sweat, and panting.

"Okay," Tekken got out in-between gasps, "I didn't, expect, that." She slowly rolled her head around to look at IF. "You're pretty, pretty enduring."

"Right back, at you," IF returned, though she lacked the energy to smirk. The last few hours had been intense. Neither of them had ever met anyone who could keep up, and their bodies stung almost everywhere.

With her general exhaustion and night approaching, IF was tempted to fall asleep then and there; yet some part of her still had the discipline to keep her awake until she had showered and gone home.

Fortunately for both of them, her gym would not close for a while, though most other patrons had left by this time. They were basically alone after their extended exercise session.

By herself, IF noted to never try Tekken in that regard again. As expected of a fellow Maker, the other woman's training regimen was about as rigorous as her own. There went their entire evening, as they got to it right after a tour of the city. She was hungry.

Once she finished catching her breath, the brunette slowly pushed herself up until she sat, a faint smile finding its way on her face. Tekken did similarly, though she also looked around and took in the mostly empty room. "Huh. Is it always like this?"

IF shrugged as she got to her feet. "Most of the time; they are open until ten, but it's usually just me who stays until after half past eight on weekdays." The other woman made an understanding noise. as they both regarded each other.

It was quite surprising when Tekken spoke up, though: "You know, I haven't had such a nice day in a while. It's fun to take it easy at times, and to work out with someone who can keep up." IF nodded, though the next words stopped her cold: "Um... if it's okay, can I kiss you?"

This question was unexpected, even more so because IF had completely forgotten this was actually a date. Blood rushed into her cheeks and turned them bright red as she averted her gaze; Tekken herself turned a faint pink again and fiddled with her thumbs. "S-Sorry, that was a weird thing to ask."

"N-No, it's fine, I just..." IF almost stammered as she responded, thankful for the fact they were alone. She risked a glance at Tekken, her blush renewing. "It's just, unexpected, is all. I never kissed anyone."

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she admitted it, much less nonchalant than she usually would be. With so much of her being focussed on just staying awake and upright, she could not effectively fight her own embarassment anymore.

Tekken fidgeted again and risked a glance as well, their eyes meeting. "I see, um..." She was pretty, IF thought by herself in these moments. She wondered if she wanted to be kissed, realising that they just had spent half a day together on a date and got along. She enjoyed herself so far, and at this point she had gotten curious about how it would feel like.

Marshalling her will, IF took a deep breath and tried her best to relax. She gave Tekken a weak nod. "It's okay." Yet this was difficult, especially when she saw the surprise on her date's face. The leanboxian stood still a moment longer, then took a step toward IF. When she remained where she was, Tekken took another step, and one more until they stood right in front of each other.

IF had closed her eyes by the time their lips met; a soft kiss was what she felt, little more than a peck. Warm, too, but not in any way overwhelming like the things she read in the few novels she read in the past. Just... nice.

Tekken's arms wrapped around her and she slowly did the same, pushing back into the kiss. They separated and met again, holding each other steady in these tender moments.

Both of their faces were flushed once more when they separated for the last time; IF reluctantly opened her eyes to take in the woman she still held, and who still held her. Tekken appeared a little sheepish, though they both smiled at each other.

The younger woman slowly loosened her arms after a few seconds, the older one following suit before each of them returned into their personal space. IF was not sure what to say in these moments, a notion which Tekken picked up on well enough.

"I think we should wash up," she told IF softly. They were both still sweaty and tired from their workout; a hot shower would do well to wash all the sweat away and relax their abused muscles. "I can wash your back if you want?"

That offer, however, made IF take an involuntary step back. She was not completely airheaded and with the kiss they just shared, she could imagine just what Tekken suggested. "I-um, that's..." She began to stammer, blushing luminously and shaking her head, knowing this went much too far for a first date.

The other woman tilted her head in confusion, but accepted her decision and let IF lead the way to the showers. They picked up towels on the way.

Once inside, IF quickly made her way into one of the first stalls, leaving a furiously blushing Tekken behind. She quickly set everything up with practiced motions, slowly making it over her embarassment; her reaction had still not been fine for how flustered she had been, but she could not help it this day.

After a minute of relaxation under the hot water, she could hear Tekken tap against the stall's wall. "It's... sorry. Gym showers back home are all communal, so I thought it would be the same here. I didn't mean to take things further."

IF kept quiet for a moment, relieved yet still feeling a little flustered. Now that she was presented this clearly with the prospect, she had to admit to the tiniest bit of curiousity.

However, any such ideas were rejected when she responded to Tekken: "It's okay, I guess. Sorry for overreacting." She wanted to say more, but had no idea how to express herself without becoming a stammering mess. She wiped some of her hair back behind her shoulder and sighed quietly.

"It's fine, IF." The older woman sounded thoughtful. She stayed quiet for long moments and sighed deeply. "To be honest, I would not mind taking things further with you, but it's fine if you don't want to." The younger woman felt that this was rather awkward to talk about; them being separated like this helped, though.

"I'm... sorry, I'm not really comfortable with that idea."

"It's okay."

The ensuing silence lasted until both of them were clean and dressed once more; neither Tekken nor IF were ready to break it before that point, not even capable of holding the other's gaze for long.

By the time they left the gym, the two women were walking under the last rays of the sun. IF felt glad for the fact few people were around at this time of day; most were either still at work or eating dinner. She really did not need an audience for trying not to be an embarassed mess.

Seeing that Tekken remained silent, she figured it was better to say something herself and sighed. "Look, it... it was fun. All of it up until now." IF thought that was a good start; it definitely got the other woman's attention. "I never really thought about going out, so I didn't think I would enjoy myself like I did. Thank you for that."

"...oh. You're welcome. I had fun, too." Tekken brightened as she spoke, a spring entering her step. Neither of them brought up their kisses, though the pink hues on their cheeks revealed their thoughts quite clearly.

In the end, IF figured she should address the matter: "What does that mean for us now?" What few reading material she had consumed about this matter usually had people get together at this point, but she felt absolutely not ready to commit to an actual relationship. Her chest clenched up at the thought.

"Mhm..." Tekken put a finger to her cheek and shrugged, her next words releasing the tension from IF: "Anything we want it to mean, though we're both Makers at the moment. I don't think anything serious would work at all, unless one of us would be okay with leaving her home behind to live elsewhere." They both knew neither of them wanted that, so she did not even pause to wait for a response. "So for now... how about we just keep today as a nice memory, and maybe go on another date next time we get assigned to the same place?"

"I'd like that." And the younger woman had to admit to herself that she meant it. Her quick response brought a smile to Tekken's face; then the Leanboxian perked up and rummaged through her pockets. "Ah, right. We should exchange numbers so we can stay in contact." She quickly produced her phone, the smile turning a little more goofy as she did. IF pulled out her own phone, happy with the prospect of adding a new number to it.

They exchanged cheerful nods once they were done. Night fell in those moments, and the two became aware of the fact it had become dark. Tekken looked around with a certain surprise. "This late already?"

IF snorted, though she felt similarly. Where it was usually the mindless repetition of her many exercises that chased the hours away, this day had been quite pleasant. "So it seems." Then her empty stomach reminded her of something. "How about we grab a bite to eat and head home afterward?"

Tekken looked delighted at the idea.

**. .**

**. .**

After a hearty meal, Tekken kissing her goodbye, and the trek home, IF fell into bed and was fast asleep immediately.

Elsewhere, a party of three was sitting together; two CPUs and an android, enveloped in comfortable silence. Steamax was browsing another porn magazine he had purchased recently, with Nepgear glancing over at it from time to time in idle curiousity. The younger purplette busied herself writing code on her N-Gear.

Neptune, in turn, had draped herself over her sister's lap while reading through some of her own business reports.

Steamax, despite his continued interest in the conundrum of human biology, was paying attention to the two goddesses nearby. He could tell something was on their mind. The silence, though peaceful, he could not stop himself from breaking eventually: "Credit for your thoughts?"

Both CPUs turned their attention to him; Nepgear fidgeted slightly while Neptune cast a worried glance her way. That was enough for him to know this concerned the younger sister. He subtly moved his head to watch her more directly, waiting for either an explanation or a refusal. If she did not want to talk about it, she would say.

After a few moments of quiet, Nepgear lowered her gaze and sighed. "It's just... I'm a little envious of IF right now. With our studies and new duties, I couldn't spend any time at all with Uni aside from the dance. Every time one of us is free, the other has to work. It's... frustrating."

She paused her work and swiped around on the device in her hands, grimacing. "Like right now, she is out exterminating monsters." It was followed by another sigh. "And I am pretty sure IF and Tekken went out on a date today, so... argh!"

She only barely stopped herself from throwing the N-Gear away, flipping it up in the air instead. By the time it fell, the Candidate was lying next to her sister; Neptune caught the device instead. "Goodness, I'm a mess."

Seeing her sister's distress, the older CPU exchanged a helpless look with Steamax; he had never been in love, but the signs were rather clear to him. And now IF, who he heard had a track record of not being involved in any romance, went on a date before her. Even if it was just imagined, he could roughly understand her feelings.

Neptune sighed as well and patted her sister's head, then she pulled out her phone. A few rapid-fire text messages were sent out and responded to, then she gave her sister a nudge. "Hey, little Nep."

"What is it, sis?" Nepgear groaned as she turned her head, only to see Neptune smirk at her.

"Switch on your HDD and get over there. All of Uni's work for the week is cancelled, and so is yours. Off you go." Steamax quietly took a picture of Nepgear's flabbergasted expression. It lasted only a moment longer before she surged back up and hugged her sister tightly.

"Oh, sis, _thank you_! I love you, you're the best!"

"Hehe, you know it. Godspeed, Nepgear." Neptune chuckled and shooed her Candidate away, who gave her a kiss on the cheek before dashing up the stairs to the roof. A moment of divine presence later, she was gone.

The two that remained looked at each other. If Steamax had an eyebrow, he would raise it. Neptune just shrugged and sat down properly again, turning off the N-Gear and picking up her reports. "What can I say? It's not a matter of if they get together, but of when. It's probably just as bad for Uni, so throwing them a bone is the right thing to do. Ah, young love."

She said it with faux wistfulness, but Steamax had to agree with her statement. He chuckled nonetheless and let the matter be.


	46. Among Legends 5

_Oh, IF? Tehehe, do not worry, my Lady. All of us think highly of her, though we also want to give her a spanking for her horrible magical education. Oh, and here is something you probably didn't look into: her mother's side of the family branched off of ours five generations ago. Surprising, yet it makes so much sense with her SP. I heard my good-for-nothing of a daughter planning how to connect with her, but... let us say there will be no progress on that end as long as it is for appearances._

-Nishizawa Keiko, matriarch of the Nishizawa family

* * *

IF yawned as she stepped out of the train. Cold air immediately bit her the moment she took her first breath in the loweean climate; even the heavy blue coat she wore could not prevent it from slipping through and making her shiver in places. Its stuffed hood had the side effect of obscuring her face, though; nobody paid much attention to her because of it.

Half a week passed since her first date ever, and the time went by rather smoothly; the short break had been enough for her to recuperate somewhat. Talking to Tekken was a little awkward at first, but IF quickly realised that little changed. They got along well.

Cold wind quickly took IF's mind off of her since departed friends; Falcom and Tekken both headed home the previous evening, the morning after which she had taken the train to Lowee.

By herself, the young Maker wondered just why Neptune would send her on an assignment in another nation that was to only last three days. There was not that much she could do in such little time. Granted, IF could guess the important part of it was to introduce her to the various other Makers, yet she still felt that this could have been solved better.

She shivered in the cold air and huddled a little deeper into her coat's collar. Her mind busied itself with the question of how cold it had to be in the heart of the nation if a small town several dozen kilometres from the border was already like this. Then she beheld the city itself and pushed aside the thought.

Before her lay a field of colourful lights, shining brightly in the fading night; IF had been on the train for three hours, from ten in the morning at home to seven in the morning at her destination. Lowee got less sunlight than the rest either way, but with how bright the city before her shone, one could think they made more than up for it.

Planeptune in the morning felt imposing, towering buildings sleeping in the shadows cast by streetlights. Lastation appeared more down to earth, quietly lying until its people awoke. Lowee, on the other hand, was warm and friendly even this early. Welcoming, even.

Other travelers had stopped much like her, most of them on their first visit to the Land of White Serenity. IF began to understand how it earned its name.

No large skyscrapers like home, no massive buildings like in Lastation. Just masses of bungalows, arrayed in patterns she could not discern from where she was. The only structure that stood out was the Basilicom, a vast stone spire reaching a hundred metres into the sky. It appeared much like a watchtower.

That place was also her destination; all three loweean Makers were supposed to meet her here for a larger assignment, seeing that a great number of powerful monsters had spawned nearby. They were spotted quickly and thankfully had not yet moved, but their number meant a few might make it into the city during a joint attack.

Originally, IF had been meant to travel to the capital of Myora. Neptune contacted her with the change of plans when the Guild found the monster den, but told her not to rush in the very same message. Now that she was here, she understood her friend's reasoning: even just moving around could be troublesome in Lowee. She would have to get used to the climate as best as she could before heading into battle.

Seeing that their meeting was scheduled to be later in the morning, IF found herself with a bit over two hours of idle time. With no idea what to do in an unfamiliar city, she decided to take a closer look and began to walk.

Planeptunian cities grew in all three dimensions, making them ultimately smaller than loweean ones. Just walking from the train station to the center of this town would take at least an hour. Lights of all colours illuminated the streets, mostly traversed by carriages and foot travel. She did not really stand out, as most people wore coats of similar thickness. Some were out and about in shorts and shirts, the first of which was a woman who made IF suspect a CPU. But there were more as she strolled along. The very idea of not bundling up in this weather appeared alien to her.

Nonetheless, IF had to admit that being dressed like this was a welcome change of pace; the constant attention, no matter how subdued it was by manners, had begun to bother her. Having to sweat in the heavy clothes she wore was a small price to pay in her opinion, at least for a time.

Shaking off the thought, she found that snow was everywhere; not just covering the ground, but also around and on the cozy houses she passed; all the roofs were angled and appeared rather smooth, making larger masses of snow just slide off. Mages melted overly large amounts with fire magic to make sure it did not block the street or buildings, mindful to melt the ice this procedure left as well.

After seeing this, the young woman took note of holes in the white blanket in other places; it appeared to be a common practice and she could understand why. Her own fire was by far not precise enough to melt snow in winter without scorching everything else, but many of the other children with magic had used it to get around shoveling duty.

With nothing to really occupy her mind, IF's thoughts eventually returned to the last few days of her life. She was still tired from how hard they had to work; this could not go on as it had. No matter how little she liked it, keeling over from exhaustion was not an option.

She knew that she could keep going if need be, but felt this would be better served in emergencies.

Yet the only thing she could cut down on in her everyday life was training. Staying in shape was important, though IF had to admit that her current standards were no longer sustainable during work days. They ate basically all of her free time.

A few minutes of quiet introspection passed, the young woman steadily wandering through snowy streets. She did not like the decision she reached, but figured it had to be done; cut all of her exercises and practice in half during work days. She would see whether those additional three hours were enough to get by on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a snowball flying right past her face, and more soon following. Not out of malicious actions, but because a gaggle of children started throwing them at each other up ahead. Other passersby had to dodge some as well, though nobody seemed to mind. It was a common occurence.

Feeling playful, IF made a quick step to catch the next snowball that came her way; the girl who threw it appeared surprised and a little awed... until it impacted her chest, that was. IF had made sure not to throw with enough force to hurt her and gave the girl a cheeky wave as she passed by. Other children were laughing while her target pouted; it was visible in her entire posture even without being able to see her face well.

The child wiped off the snow before going back to play, though nobody else commented; their amusement was hidden by their own coats and the receding night. IF herself smiled as well; if the children were happy, the nation was prosperous.

**. .**

**. .**

Little happened on her way to the Basilicom. She saw flowers growing out of the snow-filled pastures, refusing the call of endless winter and blossoming nonetheless.

And once she actually paid attention to the carriages passing by her once in a while, she was reminded of the fact those were drawn by bears. With their white fur, the hulking creatures could barely be seen where snow was prevalent.

Of course she had known, intelectually, that bears could be found in Lowee. Yet actually seeing them was an entirely different experience.

She stayed out of their path as best as she could. Those creatures had to be well-domesticated to be allowed near children, but she still did not want to end up in front of one that was going the other way.

That were all of her observations until she reached the Basilicom, half an hour before her meeting was scheduled. IF calmly walked through a set of metal doors, entering a small chamber together with one other person. The next set of doors, made of glass, did not open immediately.

She knew what the sign on them said already, having read up on the practice. As warm air filled the room, the young woman spent these moments taking off her heavy coat. The regular one was underneath, though a little rumpled.

In Lowee, governmental and all other public buildings were uniformly built with two sets of doors to ensure most of the heat inside the building could not dissipate easily; the rooms between these worked as a buffer.

It was still not a comfortable temperature by the time the glass doors opened, but definitely no longer freezing. The procedure took maybe twenty seconds. Once the doors unlocked, IF stepped forward and opened them; warmer air greeted her immediately and she relaxed a little.

As she entered the main lobby, differences between the two nations became rather more clear. The building appeared more bare than the polished metal surfaces of home, more... rough, was the best way she could describe it; all of it had been built out of actual bricks instead of steel as well. The front desks were made of dark wood instead of plasteel, giving everything a much different feel from Planeptune's sleek and smooth architecture.

The counters in front were not her destination, though. IF went right past them and for the elevator close to the tower's main axis. The guard there eyed her for a moment, but quickly snapped to attention before she even showed her ID. With her winter clothes off, Maker IF had become recognisable once more.

The woman even saluted, which brought her some more attention from the attendants; IF did her best to ignore it and moved past the guard with a nod, quickly entering the elevator. She knew where to go.

Unlike the main Basilicoms of the nations, this place lacked the space to allow people to roam freely. Had she been a civilian, she would have to be processed at the front desk before being directed to a specific storey.

Instead of immediately heading for her destination however, IF made a detour to the seventh storey; it held guest quarters for officials passing through, and one had been prepared for her. She left her bag there, content that she did not have to look for a hotel. Being employed by the state had some nice perks.

On the way down to the fifth storey, IF checked her phone; she got messages from her divine friends as well as Compa, the latter wishing her good luck and the former telling her about mundane things. Neither CPU appeared worried about her at all.

Smiling to herself, she pocketed the device and opened the door. After standing in front of it for a few seconds and waiting for it to open, that was. She was around too many automatic doors in recent months.

A little embarassed and glad that nobody had seen her faux pas, IF made to take a look around. She was addressed immediately: "Welcome, comrade! You are ahead of schedule, so join me and make yourself comfortable." A mature yet playful voice called out to her, bringing her attention to the blunette already seated inside.

It was a medium-sized conference room, enough space for the single occupant to not be seen immediately. Her hair fell loosely down the white jacket, yet not even close to the length necessary to reach down to the end of its long hem. IF curiously noted the black trims as well, similar in colour to the pointy hat laying on the table.

Framed by her hair were deep blue eyes that held honest curiousity and a spark of great intelligence, as well as a welcoming smile. The little mole below her eye was barely visible, but there.

Maker MAGES., the most resourceful mage of her era. Despite having less Spellpower than IF, her efficiency was peerless.

IF smiled in return and raised her hand in greeting; the older woman's words had been a little weird, but she paid them no mind. "Good morning. I didn't expect anyone to be here already." She wandered over and the blunette stood to shake her hand, absently righting a sleek staff of blue metal that was in the process of tipping over.

"We all had to make the journey from Myora; our comrades are yet busy with private matters, though they will join us in the near future." MAGES. held an easy smile and looked IF over; she stood a little smaller than the brunette, but that did not bother her at all. "We already heard great things of you; meeting you in the flesh is an honour and a pleasure."

"Likewise," IF returned with a faint blush; she still had to work on her reactions to getting praised. She shook it off well enough, though. "It's the first time I get to meet and work with actual mages, so I'm looking forward to it." After a moment, she frowned. "No pun intended."

Her add-on drew a snort out of the older woman, who motioned for her to sit. "It is quite alright. Half the reason I picked this name is to force people into making the pun." She picked up a mug of weakly steaming coffee. "We should have about... twenty minutes before the other two arrive," she noted with a glance at a pocketwatch she carried. "Though Broccoli will be fashionably late by one minute as usual, I presume."

The brunette answered with a slightly raised eyebrow, but did not comment. She was used to other Makers having weird quirks by now, and this appeared comparably tame.

She got herself seated and loosened the straps of her katars, carefully placing her weapons on the table. Even though she doubted that they had been harmed by the cold, IF would not leave that to chance. Her blades were important in combat.

MAGES. eyed her curiously as she worked, but did not comment outside of an approving nod that IF failed to see. The younger woman had all her attention on her katars and quickly determined that everything was alright. Though the blades ought to be sharpened at some point in the near future.

Once she had finished her assessment, her colleague spoke up: "I am going to gather some more coffee. Would you like some as well?"

Her offer caught IF off-guard, but she quickly nodded. "Sure, thank you." She was not the biggest fan of coffee even after drinking it for so long, but it was warm and she could use something to drink.

MAGES. left the room without responding, soon returning with two mugs. IF thanked her again and took a sip.

A few minutes later, which the two spent mostly in a comfortable silence, someone else entered the room. What immediately stood out to IF were her orange hair and bright smile; a moment later she also noticed the newcomer's womanly figure below her thick sweater and trousers, but ignored it in favour of listening to her call of "Good morning!"

A melodious and peppy voice, as she recalled hearing the few times TV had broadcasted something about MarvelousAQL. None as outstanding as Falcom or MAGES., but a steady person who made it to Maker with talent and dedication alike.

"Oh, you are already here." And she had been spotted. Marvelous quickly wandered around the table to bow at her, which IF returned a little awkwardly. "It's a pleasure. I am MarvelousAQL, Marvy in short. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Her genuine happiness threw the younger woman off for a moment, but years of dealing with Compa made it easier to adjust. "Likewise. I'm IF, nice to meet you."

The older Maker nodded enthusiastically and gratefully accepted a cup of tea from MAGES., who motioned for them both to take a seat. "Let us sit for the moment until our last companion arrives. I very much doubt she will be ahead of schedule."

Marvy chuckled at that. "Of course she won't." IF just accepted the weirdness and sipped her drink until all attention went back to her. "Don't worry, you will like Broccoli. She is a little rough around the edges, but a sweet girl over all."

She had heard differently, but already figured not to make assumptions ahead of time. Going by MAGES.' chuckle however, Marvy was not telling her the exact truth either.

"We will see how those two get along, friend. But for now, would you indulge a magician and tell us about Planeptune?" The blunette put her empty cup down and shrugged over IF's curious look. "I am rarely deployed there, though the technological advancements are quite enjoyable."

"Mhm, that's true." Marvy frowned in thought. "I think our Lady usually sends her to Leanbox for some reason." MAGES. nodded in agreement, but did not comment.

IF found no reason not to induldge her colleagues, so she began to speak after a moment of thought.

**. .**

**. .**

Just as they said, Broccoli arrived punctually... a minute after the full hour. IF paused when the door opened, turning her attention there to see a little head peeking in; a head adorned with lightly coloured cat ears, which would have told her enough by itself already.

IF knew that Nepgear was working on mechanic ear types that could act like the real deal, but they were very much prototypes. This girl's ears flicked by themselves when she saw them, and a cheerful smile found its way onto her face. She quickly strolled into the room with a chipper "I'm here!", which the three women answered with greetings of their own.

Seeing Maker Broccoli in person, IF had to admit that one could easily mistake her for an actual child; she never asked Neptune for the classified background and doubted her friend would have told her even if she did, but Broccoli looked like a child. No older than eight. IF had been around children that age for most of her life, meaning that her instincts immediately tried to put this one into the same category. To be protected.

The fact she sported cat ears and a matching tail at least lessened the sensation, not that it would have had much of an influence on IF either way. The little brunette ran forward with a big smile to meet her, hugging her waist in greeting. "And you're IF. I heard a lot about you!"

She spoke as clearly as an adult, with the voice and mannerisms of a child. IF pushed back the feeling of alienation and decided to just treat her as such in turn; so she bent down and picked Broccoli up while answering her: "I hope only good things?"

The girl's surprise only lasted for a moment, then turned to mischievous glee as they came face to face. "Yup, everyone says you're great." She started to feel over IF's face, to which the brunette raised an eyebrow. They both had brown hair, and hers was curiously examined in childlike wonder.

Marvy and MAGES. contained their amusement in the background, though IF paid little attention to them. She blew a bit of air into Broccoli's face and gently pulled back her head, as she was used to. "That's enough of that. I don't like peoples' hands in my face."

"Aww." The Loweean sighed and pouted. "But your skin is nice and smooth; Marvy and MAGES. are getting wrinkles already." Her words led to two vastly different responses from the two: MarvelousAQL's eyes widened and she hurriedly made for a mirror to look herself over; her blue-haired companion merely smirked and shook her head.

IF only kept her eyebrow raised. "Still no. I'm sure there are enough girls my age who will let you if you ask. You have the cute child routine down pat."

Her compliment made the other Maker giggle. "Thanks, it took me years to get just right. Can you let me down?" IF put her to the ground without hesitation, earning a nod from Broccoli. The smaller brunette strolled around and climbed on one of the chairs, seating herself and waiting for her to do the same.

While IF seated herself, MAGES. rolled out a map for everyone to see. "I already marked our marks for this day's hunt. Did you get the details, IF?" She waited for the Planeptunian to nod, then continued: "Wonderful. Now then, most of them are around these parts."

The marked area was mostly flat terrain, not that it helped much. A dozen Phoenixes, several Turtles, a half dozen Whales, and several hundred smaller monsters already told IF that this would be a dangerous one. Many flying opponents and that last count did not include Dogoos, which could always merge into giant versions if threatened.

Broccoli looked over the map with a sigh. "That will take all morning, and maybe even the whole day if some start running. We could do it with the three of us, but four is nicer. Less work for everyone." The not-child cast a look toward IF after saying that. "I heard you're good. Do you think you can do this?"

For some reason, the doubt in Broccoli's voice irked her a little. It did not help that IF's own feelings on the matter told her no, then yes, then no again. She returned the girl's look flatly and raised an eyebrow. "My gut says no, the fact I'm here says yes." There was a bit of a challenge there, for the other Maker to say something insulting, but Broccoli did not take it.

Her ears flicked as she tilted her head, giving IF another look and a nod. "Okay."

"The feeling will never truly pass, comrade," MAGES. interjected with a sage nod before drawing their attention back to the task at hand. "But that aside, there are too many to use our usual strategy of distraction and disintegration. All of us will have to get close today." She did not sound happy, though IF could sympathise; a mage would naturally dislike melee as much as she disliked ranged combat herself.

"Heh, so the new girl gets to see me at my best?" Broccoli giggled mirthfully, over which the other two made faces.

"You have to know," Marvy began after a moment, "she is not the nicest kind of sight when she goes up close with enemies." IF had no idea what she was going on about; Broccoli only giggled more, making the busty Maker sigh. "Just... just be prepared to see something that looks really bad?"

"O...kay?" She still did not get it, but no one seemed comfortable enough, or in Broccoli's case willing, to talk more about the matter. At least she got a warning, though she was not sure about what.

MAGES. stopped any further distractions with a weary sigh. "Anyway, our main problems are the number of enemies and the fact so many of them can fly. The army would take too long to mobilise in the quantities we need to deny their airspace. We do have a squadron from the magic division on call, though."

"Eh, don't need them. There's ten thousand SP between IF, you, and me." Broccoli waved a hand dismissively. "If we need more, we can just as well call Blanc to do it for us."

Blanc being White Heart told IF enough about what her fellow Maker thought. She did feel she should clarify though, so she coughed. "I'd like to stop you there." Broccoli made a go-on gesture, waiting for what she had to say; the girl blinked over IF's next words: "I suck at magic."

"Wait, really? How? Your SP is enormous, I know that for a fact." She appeared genuinely confused, as did MAGES. and Marvy. "I looked at the numbers, it's almost as high as my own. How is that possible?"

IF had already known that before. It meant a lot, considering that the girl before her held the highest documented amount of SP in the entire gamindustrian populace.

The younger one, however, shrugged. "Never learned, never really put as much effort into it. Call me stupid, which I was, but I wanted to become strong and not a mage."

Broccoli did not even waste a moment in thought before responding: "Yeah, that's pretty stupid." Marvy grimaced over her bluntness, though MAGES. nodded her agreement. After having already agreed to it preemptively, IF saw no reason to argue the point. She had been dumb and now she paid for it.

"Okay..." Broccoli eyed her carefully. "How much do you suck at magic? We need to know that before we can go." She took a breath to continue, but paused and waited for her.

IF herself shrugged again and started counting off. "So, my Affinities are fire, light, and healing. I'm actually at least decent at healing magic." Nods from the other mages while Marvy listened curiously. "Nep gave me some remedial lessons, so I can at least use wind and ice, too. Raw magic is possible, but I can't keep it up for long."

"Demonstrate." That was MAGES., and IF simply complied with her command.

Slowly, a sphere gathered in her palm and rose into the air above her hand. It was tinged a faint blue, reminiscent of Awakening's colouring, but much less powerful. The construct wobbled and shook as she tried to keep it steady. "Anyway, my fine control is still atrocious. I'm good enough not to burn myself on my fire anymore, but directing attacks further than in a general direction does not work for anything bigger than a few sparks." For emphasis, the sphere began to wobble around her head in a faintly embarassing manner.

Halfway through its third time completing the circle, it burst into flame and quickly vanished. IF grimaced again. "That's why I'm not going to even try lightning, too."

Her blue-haired colleague had a remarkable amount of restraint; aside from the fact her face was a little too blank, IF would not be able to guess what she thought. Then again, Broccoli betrayed the effort by having her head in her hands.

"Yeah, you suck bad," was all the tiny Maker had to offer in response. IF's eyes narrowed slightly, but she reminded herself that this was her own fault and relaxed again.

"Well, I got pretty good at quickly mopping up all the small fry; that should give you some room to focus on the big ones." Her words were taken with understanding nods; the other Makers regarded the map again.

In the end, Broccoli pointed at the largest concentration of weaker monsters. "We go in from here. MAGES. and I prepare strong stuff and IF kills everything in front of us; when the bigger monsters rush in, we can kill the first few before they reach us." Not a word about her lack in capabilities this time, which she was quite happy about.

Nobody appeared to object; Marvy looked over the layout of the area once more before turning to Broccoli: "So I'm watching your backs?" She did not appear unhappy with the idea and the other two nodded confirmation.

IF had no problems with the plan; they were all playing to their strengths here.

**. .**

**. .**

Half an hour later, the four of them were seated in an armoured snowprowler; the vehicle took them toward the front of monsters in relative convenience, or at least warmth. The bumpy ride could not be called convenient for IF, who was used to planeptunian gliders. For all their horrible aesthetics, they sailed through the air so smoothly that one could forget they were flying at all.

"Behold," MAGES. explained with her usual gravitas, running a weakly flickering thread of heat through the air. "With sufficient practice, you can easily cover yourself in such a shell and brave the cold that way." She gathered it and then blew a wave of warm air toward IF. Marvy giggled when it went past her observing form, but Broccoli was only barely listening and did not react; she meditated to prepare herself.

The Planeptunian tried to follow her colleague's explanation and sighed. It was not that she lacked understanding, it was that she lacked the capability to simmer down her flames as much; not to mention combining them with wind and then circulating them around her body. Such efficiency required enough practice to make it be instinctive, for which she had not enough time.

The impromptu lesson was interrupted by an ugly snapping sound, which quickly turned everyone's attention to Broccoli. The childlike Maker had her arms stretched and a long _blade_ of bone prodding out of each one. The bones curved back and reentered her body right before the elbow, each blade directed away from the body. Her feline ears and tail had vanished, making room for a pair of feathery wings that were still in the process of fully forming. Bones cracked into place and fleshy membranes bubbled over them within a matter of seconds.

When Broccoli opened her eyes, they held a feral glint in slitted pupils. It turned to mirth once she noticed IF's horrified curiousity, making her give a lispy laugh. "Tsehehe, surprised?"

"Yes." The taller brunette took a deep breath and looked her companion over again. "How are you doing that?"

Her question made Broccoli consider for a moment; then she explained with a shrug: "Human biology isn't really made for speed or strength. Sure, we can get our bodies fit to make the difference, but we're naturally pursuit predators. We can walk for hours without tiring, and barely any other animal in the world is the same. We're not as strong as others, not as fast, but we endure. Awakening can close the gap nicely, but few people actually have that."

She pointed at herself with a giggle. "Thanks to Gema, I can change my internal biology however I want. He's fused with me at the moment, but you can pet him later if you want." She blinked, recognised her tangent, and pushed away the topic of her constant companion. "Anyway, it's not an easy thing to pull off; I had to actually study biology to know how all the stuff works so I can emulate it. Still not as good as I'd like, but I have natural weapons and a body that is made for a mix of speed and strength."

The little Maker showed her fangs with a big grin. "I'm not as enduring as you three right now, but I can fight harder and faster than each of you for a bit."

"Now combine that with her Awakening and her magic," MAGES. noted drily before giving IF a nod. "Either way, you are holding out better than some. Among others, RED actually got sick when she saw that for the first time."

Truth be told, IF's stomach _was_ revolting; she merely refused to let it empty itself. After a few moments of quietly forcing her body to calm down, she nodded at the blunette. "That warning you gave me earlier probably helped." Then she turned back to Broccoli with a certain curiousity. "Doesn't that hurt?"

The not-child chuckled and shook her head. "Nope~" She giggled and explained further, one clawed finger running over a boneblade. "It hurts if I do something dumb or have no idea what I'm doing, but its mostly fine. Honestly, my abdomen is still aching more than that."

For some reason, the notion had Marvy pale. Noticing that, IF raised an eyebrow at the mage. "Do I want to know what you did to it?"

"It's really nothing bad," the girl returned with a shrug. "But Marvy wants children, so just the idea of having her uterus taken out gets that kind of reaction." Seeing that IF was nonplussed, Broccoli pointed at her. "See, just like I said. I will be like this forever anyway, so that thing just took up space."

At this point, Marvy chimed in weakly: "...I'm not sick because of that, but what you use it for." After a glance at IF, the busty woman elaborated: "She stores Gema... down there."

Now IF shuddered at the thought, having to involuntarily imagine it. "Okay, that's... uh, yeah." She shook her head and ignored the giggling girl. "Oh look, a distraction: we're there."

Moments later, their ride ground to a stop and the four women got up. IF was quite glad about it, seeing that she could push the thoughts about her colleague's weirdness aside in favour of killing things.

Monsters became aware of their arrival quite quickly, especially once they closed. Cold air wafted around IF, creeping through her usual coat and giving her goosebumps; she shook off the cold as best as she could and gathered her flames.

She was in front, quickly traversing the snowfield while Dogoos and more powerful monsters turned their attention to them. Then she thrust her arm forward and let go, her mind forcing the flames to spread in a cone from her palm; it lashed out in a quiet hiss, engulfing the area in front of her. Snow was melted, the air around them warmed for the moments her fire lasted, and nothing was left once no more followed.

IF took a deep breath to center herself while MAGES. whistled behind her. Broccoli, meanwhile just commented on what they all knew already: "Yup, you really do suck. How much of your juice was that?"

She did not turn around, instead waiting for more monsters to close the gap while preparing a second gout of flame. "About, hm, maybe an eighth?" The silence behind her was telling.

As they spoke, the greater monsters had begun to notice and turned to investigate the distraction. They approached without caution, like most monsters did; even had they been cautious, it would not have saved them. Neither from the stream of concentrated magic bursting out and punching a finger-sized hole into a Whale from front to back, nor a Phoenix from being battered by no less than ten gleaming orbs.

Upon completing their runs, both attacks curved around to strike again. Especially the returning beam confused some monsters as they turned to look for threats in the other direction.

That was about what they could achieve before the remaining monsters reached them. IF leapt off the melting snow, aiming for one of the Phoenixes; Whales and Turtles were much too thick and armoured respectively for her to reliable pierce.

A moment before she crashed into the avian monster as it swooped for her, a blur darted past. Broccoli's little foot delivered a kick to her opponent's beak, then used it as a springboard to jump further up.

Momentarily distracted by the tiny mage, the monster did not manage to get its metre-long neck out of IF's striking range; her katar lashed out and she only needed to spread her Awakening as wide as her own arm. Head and body collapsed into glittering fragments as they were separated.

Another Phoenix exploded ahead and a third screeched in pain. She could not see the reason, though; more monsters reached beyond Broccoli, another being of red and yellow feathers crashing into her. She barely got her protective shroud up in time and the monster's tackle still took the air out of her lungs before sending her toward the ground.

IF did her best to twist in mid-air and catch her fall, then found Marvy coming for her. A dozen magical orbs guarded the older woman as she made contact with IF, clasping her hands around the younger one's shoulders. Her greater momentum still pulled Marvy along, but was greatly reduced for the price of some aches that even their Awakenings could not prevent. Both of their powers lashed out to cushion them against the ground moments later.

"You okay?"  
"Yes."

"Good to hear."

Marvy smiled at her and they turned back to the mostly aerial battle. Broccoli flitted back and forth between several opponents while MAGES. stood still in mid-air and continuously bombarded monsters with all kinds of projectiles from magical spheres to icicles.

A Phoenix dropped their way, the metallic skeletons of its right wing molten to the point it could no longer fly. The groundbound Makers separated without so much as a look. IF jumped off to clear the ground with another wave of fire, her colleague quickly ended the avian monster with an augmented slash from her katana.

When Neptune originally taught her how to project her blade further out, IF never would have thought how useful that particular trick would end up being.

Flames consumed the newly gathered monsters, though several dozen Dogoos on the sidelines began to shiver and huddle together. IF caught one cluster with another firestorm, but the others already started to shine and melt together.

A moment later, five Giant Dogoo's fearlessly hopped toward her. IF muttered under her breath and leapt to dodge a Whale's dive at her position, slashing across its snout to shoo it back.

MAGES. hit the ground next to her like a comet, unharmed due to her Awakening and a defensive layer of magic; the blunette tore a trench twenty metres long before stopping. Once she got up however, she only wore a displeased frown and wordlessly unleashed a hyperfocussed beam of flame to cut through the closing Whale.

It was not an easy battle and only got worse when the Turtles lumbered into their reach, forcing the Makers back. While three of them focussed their efforts on the new opponents, Broccoli continued to dance between the flying monsters, her small size and wind magic making them unable to actually hit her.

The last Phoenix began to dive for Marvy after futilely trying to tear Broccoli out of the sky; this left the not-child to giggle as she had a stream of magic flow into her eyes. The arcane power gathered, compressed, coalesced, and shot out under her will within moments, cleaving right through the avian monster's back and ripping a Giant Doogoo apart mid-hop. Both monsters ceased to be while Broccoli's beam struck the earth and used itself up in a small explosion.

Down on the ground, IF blinked at the display of power. Then she shook her head and focussed back on her own opponent; with no Tekken to force the Turtle back out of its shell, she had to get creative... and take a slightly higher risk of getting bitten. Her own solution was to attack from the front and project her strike right into the opening the monster's head disappeared into, which at least appeared to hurt it.

Then a small orb of flame slipped past her and through the hole she left before expanding into an inferno and cooking the monster inside of its shell. MAGES. tipped her pointed hat with a grin, then motioned for the next Turtle with her thumb.

IF grinned and nodded, taking another leap to burn down the smaller monsters in-between her and her target. Marvy had taken to destroying the Giant Dogoos, leaving the two of them to wrap up the ground battle.

Half a minute later, it was over. Four Makers stood amidst a vast patch of scorched and broken earth, partly covered in ice. Snow lay up to twenty centimetres at the edges, molten and refrozen into icy shards.

Broccoli landed on Marvy's shoulders and immediately draped over the woman's head. Her wings and 'natural' weapons receded, leaving only a snoozing girl to be pulled into the other Maker's arms. Marvy smiled leniently and held the small bundle tightly. MAGES. supplied warm air from her reserves, keeping the four from freezing on the short trek back to their ride.

It was not a perfect fight, IF had to admit that. She quickly checked everyone over with her healing magic, cured some ugly bruises, and received thanks from the others.

All in all, though...

"That went well." And nobody argued her words.


	47. Among Legends 6

_Being a Maker isn't all sunshine, dad. Sure, I have enough money to last my family three generations, but still. Even if we put the 'fighting for my life' part aside, all of us are being flooded in attention from everyone. We can't go anywhere without being recognised, and they keep offering us marketing gigs. I don't mind them so much, it's a nice change of pace to pretty up and shoot some pictures, but at this point I think the Ladies mostly choose people who don't like the attention._

-Fabienne "Tokai" Couture

* * *

It had only been a few minutes of combat, but those were more than just a little intense. They destroyed another two larger groups of monsters on the way back, though it was only her and MAGES. doing the work. Marvy kept watch over the napping Broccoli.

Their youngest looking member woke up in the evening and was now playing a game while sitting in Marvy's lap; meanwhile, MAGES. filled out paperwork with IF helping her at the other side of the table.

"Say," the blunette broke the more or less comfortable silence; she cast a quick glance at IF, who waited for her to continue. "Out of curiousity, how was your control before those 'remedial lessons' from your Lady?"

Her question made the younger woman think back to her self-taught control; she could hardly compare that to the progress she made under an experienced tutor, especially when considering that she was already far too old to ingrain the knowledge. IF sighed. "Let's leave it at this: I wasn't willing to risk using anything except my own fire and light, and using more than the tiniest bit hurt me as much as the monsters."

That sounded about right; IF noticed how Marvy's smile turned sympathetic, but paid her colleague no mind. Broccoli had her eyes on the game and definitely paid attention, but thankfully refrained from commenting.

As for MAGES., the blunette merely nodded and gave her an understanding "I see". She did not comment further, but there was no need. They all knew what she wanted to say.

A minute passed in silence as they worked on completing the report, but this time none of them broke it. Instead, the 5pb.-song IF set as her ringtone rang out. MAGES. face turned a little stony while the brunette fumbled for her phone and quickly flipped it open, paying the other woman no mind. She considered to step aside, but then figured it was just as well and took the call. "Yes, Nep?"

"Hey Iffy, what's up? Everything go okay?" Her friend and current boss did not appear concerned at all. IF just rolled her eyes.

"Yes, _mom_," she returned with emphasis on the second word. "Imagine that, the girl you always told she is good enough was, shockingly, good enough not to get mauled." The response she got was a chortle and little else; Broccoli giggled from her spot while MAGES. gave her an amused smile. Marvy kept up her Compa-impression by just holding her own smile and saying nothing.

"Glad to hear it," Neptune finally told her with cheer. "You're going to make it far at this rate. Oh, but here's news you won't like to hear: no big monster groups near you anymore, so you're going to take tomorrow off and have fun in the snow."

IF paused, her eyes narrowing; Neptune could not see it, but the few seconds of silence probably told her enough to guess. "Nep? Are you just saying this because it's the only way?"

The purplette giggled and told her no: "Hmmm, nah. It's the truth." In that moment, three more phones began to ring; one in a cheery anime opening (Broccoli), one with some kind of choir (MAGES.), and the last being a fast drumbeat (Marvy). All of her fellow Makers took out their phones while Neptune continued. "Blanc should be telling everyone to take a day off, too; we talked about it already. Oh, for the record, that is an order. Take a day off and relax." Her tone of voice did not even change as she delivered that order.

IF sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Fine, I will see what I can do." She was not particularly happy, but orders were orders.

"Great. Enjoy your stay and stay warm!" Her friend's voice was cut off by a click and the call ended. IF just shook her head and flipped her phone shut. Her fellow Makers were exchanging looks, though neither of them appeared unhappy.

She finished up the last page of the report, put her signature and stamp on the bottom, then pushed the sheet over to MAGES., who took it without a word and signed it as well.

"So... did you really just try to argue a paid vacation?" It was Broccoli who asked, curious.

IF shrugged at her in turn. Anything she could say sounded rather pitiful once one thought about it. She still had no hobbies and no idea what she might like to do. Now however, she had little choice and might as well make the best of it. So IF smiled weakly. "Not that it worked. Now I find myself with a few free hours at hand... what do you usually do here in Lowee?"

MAGES. snorted from behind the report she was rereading and Broccoli shook her head; she looked at the time and hopped out of Marvy's lap. "I'll do the last of the cleaning tomorrow, you two spend time with the new girl." She turned back to them all with a childish smile and waved. "Good night!"

And then she was gone. IF looked at the slightly open door, trying to understand what just happened; then Marvy's chuckling brought her attention to the other Maker. "Don't take it the wrong way. She just is like that."

Aside from being a little irked by Broccoli's behaviour though, IF was mostly just curious. "I'm not mad. Nep said you're taking the day off too, though."

"Oh." Marvy considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "Lady Blanc's message did say that, but we know she knows there is still some work to do. Nothing that would _need_ us," she clarified when IF frowned, quickly expanding: "Broccoli just... well..."

The older woman trailed off, unsure how to continue. MAGES. took that decision off of her with bluntness: "Broccoli has fun bossing others around, and thus likes to take the lead in the field to pass time." The blunette chuckled. "Not that there is any ill intent; she simply likes the idea of grown men and women heeding a child's every command."

Things slowly began to make sense again; IF shook her head in turn and cast a wry smile at the mage. "You mean human children." If they actually had let little Nepgear or Uni give orders, that would be rather natural in her opinion. CPUs were meant to lead after all. MAGES. snorted while Marvy squealed at the mental image.

"That would be adorable," the soft-spoken woman told her and IF had to agree. Knowing how those two looked like in their early years, the sight could have been nothing else.

**. .**

**. .**

The following afternoon found IF sitting in a carriage of all things. It was an unusual experience, all things considered. Not unpleasant, though; the air was warm and they somehow managed to make the road more or less even despite the cold. However one could work stone in such a way. Or however one could domesticate bears into pulling them around.

MAGES. and MarvelousAQL were seated opposite to her, with the blunette grinning about her comment about the unusual situation. "You get used to it in time. Most people are surprised at first, but most even get used to the bears with enough exposure."

Hearing her fellow Maker talk reminded IF of something she read and had been curious about; seeing that they were still some ways away from their destination, she turned to MAGES. curiously. "I can imagine. You are from Leanbox, right?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she nodded and motioned to go on, so IF asked: "What brought you all the way to Lowee?"

The blunette gave her a searching look and stayed quiet for several seconds; then she slowly shook her head. "Personal matters." She did not elaborate and IF accepted the refusal with a nod.

The silence had no chance to become uncomfortable, seeing that Marvy changed the topic right after: "So I was wondering, what do you do in your free time?" Unkowingly, she had hit one of the topics IF would much rather not have talked about.

The younger woman shrugged weakly in response. "Nothing much aside from exercising and practicing. I haven't really found anything I'd want to have as a hobby." And while going out with Tekken had been nice, dating anyone still felt like something she really did not want at this time. Perhaps a few years down the line, though even that was doubtful.

She received curious looks from both Marvy and MAGES.; the former appeared more thoughtful while the latter mostly exuded amusement. "Not much to do outside of work, on top of everything else... do you have ancestry in Lastation, perchance?" Her question made Marvy chuckle, though IF had heard the joke often enough not to be bothered by it anymore. She just shrugged.

"Not that I know of. What I know of my father's side lived in Planeptune for generations, and my mother came from Lowee." She really did not know all that much about her family's history; Neptune had given her some bits and she looked up a little, but not a lot. If she was honest, IF did not care much for her ancestry in the first place; she was here and now, and any achievements or connections of the past did not matter.

Perhaps she might be thinking differently if her grandparents had not left her to fend for herself, a fact she only learned about a few months ago. As it was, IF had only ever been by herself and saw no need to retrace the past.

"Oh, so you have a mixed household?" Marvy did not share any such thoughts, she simply clapped her hands in delight. "How are your parents like? We've always just been your average loweean family; mother, father, my brothers and me. I'm curious what happens when you have two cultures mix together like that."

She kept chatting at her a little longer, long enough for IF to push back the pang of pain in her chest; there was a little envy mixed in as well, all of which went ignored. When she answered her friendly colleague, it was with a sigh. "My parents died before I turned five."

_That_ killed the mood rather effectively, at least for Marvy; her eyes widened in shock and she quickly covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! I had no idea..."

IF waved it off and shook her head. "It's fine." She could not have known and meant nothing bad when she asked. However, IF figured she could at least try to answer some of her questions. "From what I heard, they were both kind people." There was more she could say, but none of it belonged in a conversation with what was basically near-strangers.

MAGES. put a hand on Marvy's shoulder and squeezed softly, her expression more calm. "Most of us Makers come with such and similar stories. Many that achieve greatness are forged in tragedy." Her attention turned back to IF and their eyes met, both holding a certain curiousity. The blunette asked her question first, though: "You don't need to answer if you don't want to... but were you around when it happened?"

It was not exactly what IF had expected, but she gave the matter some thought. Vague images of flame and half-forgotten screams emerged from her mind, but nothing concrete. MAGES. patiently waited for her response, of which the brunette was not even sure she wanted to give it.

After another glance at Marvy, she decided she might as well be a little more open. "The memory is fuzzy at best, but I was there."

Silence enveloped the inside of their carriage for long moments; MAGES. nodded quietly to herself and Marvy appeared distinctly uncomfortable with the subject matter. IF did not blame her.

"I see," MAGES. finally answered. Her eyes closed as she continued: "We lost our father early, and our mother was an abusive monster of a parent ever after." She did not elaborate, but IF understood well enough.

Marvy appeared more shaken by that than her, though. She eyed her friend with a frown. "I had no idea..." Her voice was soft, though the blunette only shrugged.

"This is not something I talk about often. It was simply never relevant for you or Broccoli before." IF could understand the sentiment, though any response she could have given was cut off over what MAGES. said next: "Not even Mina knows any details, and she is the closest friend I have these days."

"Nishizawa Mina?" She could not help but ask and almost forgot to switch first name and last name. When MAGES. nodded at her, IF regarded her with new interest. "That's a bit of a surprise. From what I heard, you are nothing alike."

As a public person, Lowee's current Oracle was well known for her kind smile and friendly behaviour. Like all Nishizawas, she also stood as a powerful mage. MAGES. only held a semblance of similarity due to the last category.

The blunette chuckled and regarded IF with a mirthful smirk. "Two need not be similar to get along. Mina is a most capable researcher just like I am, and we make for a good team with our many differences." Marvy nodded in agreement and IF understood perfectly what her colleague meant. The team she was in could not be more different, either.

Then MAGES. shuddered and gave her a more serious look. "Also, a piece of advice, IF: for as friendly and kind as they may be," with which she motioned for Marvy, "beware of pushing them too far."

The younger woman snorted and waved her off. "No need to tell me. I know a few people like that, too." Considering Compa and Nepgear, she could guess that well enough. Not to mention Mari, whose divine patience had been well known. All had feared the moment her smile dropped.

**. .**

**. .**

The day passed quite quickly; the family restaurant her colleagues took her to for lunch was nice, introducing IF to a mixture of meat and several different vegetables, with white rice as a side dish. More spicy than she was used to, but not bad in her opinion.

She also learned a most interesting trick from MAGES.; when the owner insisted not to charge them because of their hard work for the nation, the blunette, instead of arguing, agreed without hesitation. She then offered him a 'tip' that consisted of twice the price they normally would have paid, leaving the man dumbfounded as they left.

She had never thought about doing things like this before, but it appeared like a great idea. She would definitely keep that in mind.

After lunch, the other Makers took her out for karaoke, a pastime IF had never even considered. It was not unknown in Planeptune, but had much more impact in Lowee. She was also not a particularly good singer, but she managed; Marvy was the same but, much to their joint surprise, MAGES. ended up delivering a few great songs. For some reason however, she did not appear too happy when IF complimented her on it.

When Broccoli joined them in the late afternoon, she somehow managed to convince her of replacing dinner with a visit to a cake shop; IF was almost certain she never ate that many pastries, that much sugar, in a single day before. Yet she could not really regret it, or begrudge the not-child her smug expression. Those tiny cakes were delicious.

As night fell however, it was time to leave; the young woman boarded her train with a last wave to her fellow Makers, happy for the experiences and acquaintances she made. She knew she would be back at some point.

Back at the station, the three that remained saw IF off in silence. Only when the train had left their sight did MarvelousAQL speak: "I like her."

MAGES. chuckled and pulled her coat a little tighter. "Certainly an interesting character, though her youth shows."

Broccoli just shrugged and took their hands to pull them away. "We'll see if she makes it, let's go home."


	48. Divine Interlude - Celestial Dance

_This war is over. You lost, I won, nobody died, now we go back to being good friends and you _will_ like it!_

-Neptune

* * *

Uni twirled around the room, trying to keep her body straight and following the movement patterns her sister had laid out. Doing so was much more difficult than it had initially appeared, though part of it could likely be blamed on her tense anticipation.

This time however, the upcoming event could not be prepared for just by studying. She had to exercise and practice, and in a subject which she had neglected for many years in favour of what felt more important.

Now Uni paid the price for her hubris.

A knock on the door disrupted her concentration somewhat, but the CPU Candidate did not pause in her exercise. Only one of two people would be around, and Kei would have said something instead of just knocking. "Come in!" she called to her sister, who opened the door and stepped inside.

Noire wore a faint smile that grew the tiniest bit upon seeing her younger sibling practice, though Uni paid little attention to it. As much as she relished the rare instances of praise she got, this was arguably just as important to her in these moments.

"You should take a break," the older CPU advised, a soft note in her voice. "Dancing is not that different from fighting, you will be fine." Though there was also pride in her words, a notion that made Uni happy all by itself.

The Candidate considered her sister's words for a long moment, slowing down in the process. Then she shook her head and threw Noire an apologeptic look. "No can do, sis. This is my first time and I want to be as good as I can be." Not to mention that she had a one in five chance to be paired with Nepgear; putting in extra effort to impress her crush and rival was obviously the right choice.

From the look Noire gave her, the reason she did not state was noted just as well. Not like Uni expected her to miss the part. The older CPU shook her head and closed the door behind herself, then caught her sister as she was moving past. She effortlessly integrated herself into the Candidate's dance and took the lead. "We have about two hours before we head out."

Uni's eyes widened for a moment, then her lips curled into a happy grin and she let her sibling lead for the time being. "Thanks."

She got no response, but neither of them was much for actually speaking about such things.

**::**

Time passed much too quickly for her liking and the sisters soon transformed to head out. The capital quickly fell away behind them as they accelerated far above into the sky. Blanc and Vert would also be on their way by now, Uni knew.

It took Noire and her little more than an hour until they crossed the border and entered planeptunian airspace. Vast cities of shining metal stood in the evening sun, visible on the horizon from their height. Air rushed past them as they raced for Nicos, a freedom Uni could enjoy far too rarely. Flying high in the sky was one of the joys she found after reaching adulthood; ever since she learned how to fly, few things had been more relaxing for her.

This was a good thing for Uni, seeing that it allowed her to somewhat quell the excitement and ease her anxiety. It failed in dispersing all of it, though; the young Candidate's mind still focussed on the events yet to come.

Like every year on the Day of Unity, the CPUs would dance atop LAN Castle. It was a tradition at this point, originally put into place to celebrate the end of the Console War and to display the bonds between the rulers. Every year, they would fly to the primordial castle at nightfall and dance for all the world to see.

Now that both Nepgear and Uni had reached adulthood and were thus capable of flight, they were expected to join the dance. A prospect which filled the Lastationite with a certain tension, as she never went public in such a manner before. She happily went about exterminating monsters and doing related chores, not minding about being seen; in this case however, she knew everyone was watching.

Then again, Uni reasoned to herself, it was but another stage to be conquered. She practiced hard to do well and was confident in her capabilities.

What she was not confident in was her heart.

Noire told her that dance partners were assigned randomly. Out of five potential partners, if she ended up with Nepgear, that would most likely trip her up. Her thoughts became more erratic whenever her crush was near, a sensation that only grew worse since Uni's apotheosis. They did not have much time for each other recently, far too little for her own liking, but she did not want to mess up on her first dance either.

Uni was dreading to be paired with Nepgear.

Uni was hoping to be paired with Nepgear.

The divide was infuriating in itself.

Only one thing remained clear to her: she was not ready yet. She had adjusted her own mindset ever since her apotheosis, thrown away what broke and restructured the rest, added new traits she liked. Began to actually like herself like never before. Yet it would still take just a bit longer; her head was not ready yet. She needed to get herself sorted out completely, make absolutely sure this new her was who she wished to be. A task which no one could help her with. She could not afford to mess up.

As they neared Nicos, the planeptunian capital, she lamented about not being ready; the dance would have been a perfect opportunity to finally speak. Perhaps Nepgear even expected her to do it then.

No, Uni corrected herself. Nepgear was too kind to _expect_ it. She would hope, though. A hope that she hardly knew how to address.

The fourth of July would come to an end soon, leaving them with less than twenty-four hours to prepare once their partners were assigned. A small grace, all in all. On the evening of the fifth, the Day of Unity, they would head out to dance.

**. .**

**. .**

Entering Planeptower from the roof felt a little surreal still. It was a similar feeling to entering any place from above, but Uni slowly got used to it. This building however, the highest tower in the world, still held a certain majesty that she could not help but be unsettled by.

Both sisters detransformed once their feet hit the roof, Noire being the one to open the door to the small staircase down. A door so heavy that only CPUs could open them, just in case a human was insane enough to try getting up there.

Inside, three of their fellows were already present; Nepgear did not even seem to notice her entrance, seeing how engrossed she was in her N-Gear. Neptune waved cheerfully from her spot at the table and Vert smiled at them in greeting. Uni returned a wave of her own while Noire nodded at the other CPUs.

"Five are here, so we are only waiting for Blanc. Come on, sit down," Neptune beckoned them to sit with her and Vert, an invitation that Noire followed immediately.

Uni however, after considering the older CPUs and Nepgear on the couch, decided to torment herself and sat with her childhood friend. Looking over her shoulder revealed quickly flowing lines of code, written as she watched; Uni eyed the project and gathered that it was some kind of complex algorithm from the comments Nepgear left.

Neptune giggled in the background, saying something about her sister being nervous. Uni could tell as much, though she also understood it quite well. This was Nepgear's first dance, too. Seeing that she had no way to disperse her own feelings however, the lastationite Candidate felt she might as well draw her friend into the suffering.

So she poked Nepgear's cheek.

Admittedly, the cute squeak she made when poked was worth it by itself. Nepgear blinked and looked at her, eyes widening slightly. "U-Uni? Goodness, when did you arrive?"

"About three minutes ago," Noire provided from her spot; Nepgear looked over in confusion, then back down at her work.

"Huh. I'm sorry, I, well..." She fidgeted a little, blushing in embarassment about having missed their entrance entirely. Uni just patted her shoulder while Vert and Neptune chuckled in the background.

"It's fine. Happens to all of us from time to time." She could not help but try to cheer her friend up; Nepgear gave her a thankful smile and saved her progress before shutting the device off. Once the younger purplette turned her full attention to Uni, it appeared like a good time to chat. "How is IF doing?"

Her question made Nepgear think for a moment, a thoughtful hum coming from her. "Hmm, we do not get to talk as much recently. She is busy trying to keep up with the other Makers." Then she pointed back to her sister. "We're keeping an eye on her, though. Both so you don't try to snatch her away and so she doesn't burn out."

So business as usual, though Uni could not help but take the bait. She crossed her arms mockingly. "Oh? You think we would need to try recruiting your Makers?"

"Nope," her friend returned without hesitation and a bright smile. A smile that was at odds with her next words: "But you'd try to recruit IF in particular because you like her and have no other friends."

Neptune burst into laughter while the Candidates stared at each other. Uni could not help but smirk, even though her friend had hit a sore spot. "Excepting yourself because you're my best friend?" Nepgear nodded cheerfully, using the very same reasoning her older sister used on Noire in the past.

Granted, in their case it was also that they might be more soon. That part remained unsaid, but they both knew it.

Instead, Uni shrugged and leaned back lazily. "Well, joke's on you; I have been talking with our Makers and am going out some more recently. I wouldn't call anyone a friend yet, but I'm getting there. Which leaves Noire in the dust," she could not help but quip. Her sister's glowering almost made her giggle, but she kept it together. Nepgear joined her own sister in laughing, though.

"Since when was I the butt of the joke?" Noire asked without much heat, though her eyes were narrowed the tiniest bit.

The question went to no one in particular, and the response came from the door: "Because you are one of two serious people in this circus, and the clowns can't laugh as much about each other." Blanc entered with those words, a small smirk on her face. She closed the door quietly while Neptune waved at her, paying no attention to it.

"My, Blanc," Vert greeted with a soft chuckle. "It is quite mature of you to admit to it yourself. Nepgear certainly grew quite competent." The blonde smiled beningly, a gesture that made even Uni feel a little smitten; Blanc just shoved her back into her chair as she passed by, ignoring the giggling purple CPUs.

Noire rolled her eyes at the display before pushing back to the original topic: "Speaking of our Makers, I was thinking we should start to familiarise IF with everyone. Lastation doesn't need all three at the moment, so I could send Falcom over in a bit."

Neptune showed her a thumbs up; Blanc, though unbothered by the sudden change of subject, shook her head. "We just had a high, so I can't send any of my Makers abroad. Maybe once things have calmed down in a month or two." The others nodded understandingly and Uni winced. From what she read, Lowee appeared to have gotten many of the monsters Lastation should have had. With only one CPU...

Uni considered this and spoke up: "I can drop in and help clean up a little next week." Her words got her an appreciative nod from Blanc while the others appeared to smile more generously for some reason.

"I might pay you a visit as well," Vert offered gently. "We had a few things to talk about anyway. I think I can spare Tekken for a few weeks, too," she noted with a glance to Neptune; the purplette was beaming now.

"Great, thanks! I'll see if I can spare my little Nepgear to help, too."

Nepgear shook her head immediately, though. "I don't think we can do that at the moment. Too many monsters, too little time." She looked rather sad about it, especially when her sister agreed.

Uni wondered about that, some part of her hoping that her friend was sad because she could not fight by her side. Before she could bring herself to ask however, Noire spoke up: "I think we dallied enough for now. Let's get this over with."

And just like that, her anxiety was back. All attention thankfully went to Neptune, giving Uni a chance to hide how nervous she was.

The planeptunian CPU jumped out of her chair with a cheer, ushering everyone onto the soft carpet in front of the TV; Nepgear exchanged a look with her, the usual soft smile a little shaky. It was enough to tell Uni she was not the only one who was nervous.

To pass the few moments Neptune needed to prepare herself, Uni quietly assessed her potential dance partners.

There was the purplette herself, beginning to shine. She was a kind woman and always willing to give her a nudge, but also of the mind that she had to work hard for what she wanted. A decent partner, if unlikely to stop her from tripping up. She would prevent any actually noticeable mistakes, though.

Then there was her own sister, Noire. With mastery brought to her own steps and thus likely holding the widest gap to Uni's own skills, she was also the most familiar with her. Noire certainly would cover any mistakes she made, if just this once because it was her first dance. Due to who she was however, Uni knew she would then get additional lessons to curb the more egregious missteps... and it was an excuse to spend time together. Going by the understanding look her sister had when their eyes met, she had similar thoughts.

Vert was a beauty through and through, both in appearance and behaviour, as the gentle smile on her face attested. If she was paired with Uni, there would either be more attention on her or less, depending on whether people kept their eyes on the leanboxian CPU or took interest in her partner. Vert was a gentle person and likely going to whisper encouragements to her when she needed them, though.

Blanc would be the hardest to dance with, mainly because Uni stood a head taller than her; a problem which even flight could only mitigate somewhat. Her stoic nature could not hide the fact she would still try to make it easier for her, but she doubted that any of her mistakes would be covered for; Blanc was not the kind of person. She would let her stumble to learn from her mistakes. Though Uni did not know whether Blanc even liked this tradition; she stood with her arms crossed and a small frown on her face, ignoring everyone else even though Vert was petting her head.

And then, of course, Nepgear. She fidgeted a little as she waited for Neptune to finish her preparations, not even noticing Uni's gaze. They were both Candidates, so being paired together would definitely get them additional attention for being new. Moreover, both of them spent little time on actually learning to dance; that went especially when compared with any of the CPUs proper. If either of them messed up, the other was most likely unable to cover for her.

Nepgear was logically the worst choice for Uni's partner; she did not want to receive too much attention when doing something she was likely to mess up in, and their performance could not be improved by the other's experience. Noire and Vert were logically the best partners she could get.

Yet Uni _wanted_ to dance with Nepgear. She so desired to keep her close and share this experience with her, but part of her mind still did not let her actually communicate as much. She wanted to speak up, to ask if they could make an exception and let the Candidates go together, but her tongue was tied by indecision still. Weaker than before, yet still too strong to be overcome.

Soon, though. Uni would meditate more and get her head in the order she wanted in the near future.

"Alright," Neptune chirped and interrupted her train of thought. Six folded paper slips hovered in-between her hands, outwardly indistinguishable from each other. "You know the drill: six dancers, six numbers. Same numbers are paired, Candidates draw first." She looked around with a mischievous smile. "Also No Items, Final Destination, Fo-" "Let's go already," Blanc interrupted whatever kind of joke the purplette was trying to make. Vert snickered.

Neptune pouted, but the air between her hands began to move and quickly form into a nearly visible ball that whirled the slips this way and that, making even the fast minds of the gods unable to follow them. No one even knew which number was where to begin with, but this made it actually feel random.

After a few moments of whirling the paper around, she held the ball out to Nepgear and Uni. "Here you go, but don't open them yet!" She sounded so cheerful that the Candidates began to relax slightly.

Uni motioned for Nepgear to go first, who did so with a soft smile; her delicate hand passed through the layer of moving air and grasped for a lazily floating piece. When she retracted it, Uni reached in and took another in the same way. Soft gusts caressed her skin for the few moments it took, making her feel a little as if she was mid-flight again.

Noire, Blanc, and Vert followed the same procedure, each of them appearing entirely unconcerned about the whole proceeding; instants became eons in these moments, as Uni waited for Neptune to disperse the wind and take the remaining piece.

Then the wait was over. All CPUs held a slip of paper and Neptune cheerfully smiled at everyone. "Alright, open on three!" And while everyone prepared to do just that... the purplette rattled down the countdown at a speed they could hardly follow.

Uni and Nepgear were the last to behold their numbers, half a second after everyone else; neither of the older CPUs had been surprised by the sudden change of pace, and nobody commented on it. Neptune pouted... though when Uni's gaze met hers, she winked.

Uni blushed and hoped that nobody saw. Everyone saw, except Nepgear who had the very same thing happen to her for the exact same reason; Neptune knew them both quite well.

Focussing back on her paper, the lastationite Candidate found a number three written on it. "Got two!" Neptune called a moment later, followed by Blanc showing them her piece with the same number.

So those two were out. If Uni had a heart, it would be beating heavily now. Her eyes turned to Noire, who studied her paper a moment longer; maybe dancing with her sister would be better after all, she reasoned. Then Noire's question made that idea crumple as fast as it appeared: "Who else has the one?"

And Vert raised her hand.

Which meant...

The Candidates looked at each other, turning their papers as one; they were partners for the dance. Uni took a deep breath, a habit she picked up to calm her nerves; Nepgear appeared no less anxious, at least.

"Oh my," Vert noted merrily, "the little ones get to spend their first time together." She immediately got slapped by Blanc, which she dodged with a quick step.

Meanwhile, Uni and Nepgear both turned crimson over the innuendo. Embarassment surged through the Lastationite and was not even slightly quelled when Neptune took both of them by the arms. "Hehe, this will be great fun!"

Uni's head spun.

**. .**

**. .**

It still spun the following day.

All CPUs had stayed in Planeptune to practice with their chosen partners, a prospect which got easier as the two Candidates actually began. Sixteen hours spent just between the two of them and in a way that made her furious with herself.

In these hours, Uni hated nothing more than that she tried to be reasonable. She knew she was not ready to make the next step yet, but something within her wanted to be impulsive and just do it anyway.

Being this close to her crush for so long, with no interruptions aside from IF calling in out of curiousity, really made this troublesome. Nepgear definitely noticed, but said nothing and occupied Uni's attention with their planning as best as she could.

Nonetheless, as the final hour of their practice time had arrived, Uni could not help but speak up.

"I'm sorry."

Nepgear looked up from where she was thinking, but did not ask. They both knew what the younger Candidate meant. She did, however, smile. "Don't be. I know this is hard on you, so take all the time you need. I'm a patient woman, I can wait."

Sometimes, Uni thought she did not deserve someone this understanding and encouraging. She knew she was being so very selfish in her actions, yet Nepgear did not chide her even once. "It's still unfair to you," she could not help but mutter.

Her friend, however, did not answer at first. Nepgear got up and walked over, sitting on the ground as Uni did; they remained back to back for a minute, silent in their own thoughts.

"I'm not immune to all this, either," the purplette finally began. She kept a weak pressure on Uni's back, signalling her to stay as she was. "Perhaps it is unfair to me, but that does not matter. I love you." Those three words made the Lastationite stiffen, unexpected as they were. Of course she had known them, but never heard. Neither of them had been willing to actually speak them up until this point.

In the pregnant silence, Nepgear's voice rung: "So putting your wishes first is no problem to me. You would do the same if our situations were reversed."

Her words only made Uni hate herself more.

Going by the way her hand clasped Uni's, Nepgear knew it as well.

The other Candidate giggled for some reason, squeezing gently and pulling to signal her to turn around. Uni did so and came face to face with a mischievous expression, far too close for her liking. "But just so you know, I am a little selfish myself. Once you are ready, I expect you to shower me in attention."

Nepgear's eyes twinkled as she delivered her demand, only half-joking, and Uni nodded slowly. That was a demand she did not mind complying with at all. "Sure. Is that really all you want, though?"

Her question made Nepgear turn thoughtful, their faces still too close for Uni's nonexistent heart. She withstood the part of her that just wanted to throw it all to the wind and kiss her, but only barely.

Her friend smiled a little brighter and shook her head. "Probably not, but I will get back to you about that. I still have some thinking of my own to do about what I want." Uni nodded understandingly, averting her gaze from the brightness in front of her.

"We should get back to our practice now. Those last few steps are still a problem," her friend noted and got up, with Uni following her lead.

**::**

They had to head out not much later. All CPUs gathered on top of Planeptower again, exchanging smiles and nods.

Then they all transformed, the Candidates respectfully letting their elders go first and following them a moment later. Silver light shone where the six arrayed themselves in pairs; for the time being, all of them still wore their normal attires.

Naturally, changing their appearance to floating dresses could be easily done without sacrificing much of the enhancing effects, but aside from Green Heart in her combat dress, none of them was wiling to make the trek with emulated cloth flapping around their legs. Bodysuits, as all CPUs preferred even with their individual alterations, were much more useful in that regard.

As they took to the air, they all knew that a small army of drones was being brought in position around LAN Castle; planeptunian technology was prevalent in these hours, foregoing all arguments to national pride in favour of the most efficient machines and highest resolutions.

**::**

Once the sun had sunk behind the horizon from the primordial castle, all of Gamindustri began to pay attention.

For the drones recording the spectacle, at first there was only the darkness, illuminated by the stars above and the faint glow of the castle below.

Then the perspective turned slightly, beholding six specks of gentle light nearing. The CPUs became distinguishable soon after, gathered together in one big group for the time being. Each of them was clad in an elaborate dress in the colour of her nation, radiant in the young night.

They floated toward the castle at a sedate pace, sending gentle smiles this way and that. Passing the lake surrounding this island, they soon reached the castle grounds.

LAN Castle had stood since before the new order of the world. Birthplace of Histoire herself and seat of power to the old goddess, the progenitor. Crafted entirely from Sharicite, it had weathered even the remaking of the world and stood as a symbol of the gamindustrian will to move ever onward.

The CPUs formed a loose circle above the castle's main two spires, facing outward. Their eyes scanned the surroundings in case any monsters had opted to interrupted the procession; White Heart flicked her hand once, a stream of ice rushing into the darkness followed by the flash of a dying enemy.

All of them were relaxed in their positions, finding no more enemies. A minute passed, then two. The people watching knew it was always like this, guessing what their deities were thinking yet never truly grasping their train of thought.

Then, without any warning, the CPUs scattered and began to emanate light of their associated colour.

Both blacks, somehow managing to remain visible even in the dark night, despite the fact radiating black light was supposedly impossible, rose up high. The purple CPUs dipped lower, with green and white slipping to the side before circling around the imagined center of their formation.

Then, in difference to every year before, Black Heart and Purple Heart took their respective sister's hand; they took a few steps in mid-air, down and up respectively, before letting go and giving their siblings a little push toward the center.

When the Candidates met, hands intertwining amidst the four older CPUs, music began to play for the audience; a piece composed by the goddesses.

The first pair twirled around the central axis of their group, making one, two, three full turns before floating aside without letting go of each other. They joined Green Heart on the circle around the center while Black Heart descended to do the same.

Meanwhile, Purple Heart rose up to meet White Heart amidst them, both of them bowing to each other. White offered her hand, which Purple took to be led aside. They began to circle opposite to the Candidates, the petite deity twirling her taller partner.

Green Heart and Black Heart were last, simply floating around each other without actually touching at first. Only after brushing past each other along the peaceful march they could not hear themselves, they joined hands.

With the three pairs formed, their order broke. Each one began to rise or sink as their rythm aligned with each other. Yet they always remained aligned with the rest, dresses fluttering in a soft gust of wind; like a group of stars, their colours mixing with each other.

Those highly proficient in the art of dancing, Maker RED among them, noticed that it was not anyone so much setting the pace. Rather, the old deities matched the Candidates in theirs, adjusting whenever they changed it. Chances were, the younger two did not even notice it happening.

The deities stepped on solid air with each move, a tranquil sight to a calming melody. There were no particularly fast movements in their dance, yet each one flowed into the next to entrance all those watching. None of them paid any attention to the cameras, either; all six were focussed on each other.

Their dance went on for several tranquil minutes, CPUs gliding around the old castle and shining their light upon it. Toward the end of it, they aligned on the same height once more, forming a rough circle.

This was followed by Black Sister, Black Heart, and Purple Heart twirling their partners toward the center of their formation, where the three colourful CPUs met and joined hands. They turned around each other, circling several times before separating and twirling back to their respective partners as the music began to reach its final stretch.

The next time all six were properly aligned to each other, it was when the song faded out; all CPUs slowly bled off their momentum and came to a stop. All pairs let go of each other, the deities taking a few steps back in mid-air before bowing to their partners.

Following this, they orderly reformed the circle they stood in at the beginning. Then, once again in pairs, they took up momentum and flew off. The first to leave were White Heart and Green Heart, as usual. Following them were the lastationite CPUs, and the two planeptunians remained as the last to take up speed.

Once even the purple light had faded from the premises, the cameras were shut off. The dance had concluded.

**. .**

**. .**

Even several hours later, Uni still rode on her high.

Not only had she succeeded in dancing properly, she had done so together with Nepgear. She even hugged Noire on the way back, lest her joy made her burst without an outlet.

She tried to make a more professional expression with Kei around, but simply failed; Uni beamed, accepting and ignoring the fact both her sister and her Oracle were present in the kitchen.

Then again, she reasoned, the alienated look on Kei's face might be worth letting down her walls a little. As well as they got along, even the Oracle rarely saw Uni smile, and never like that.

All in all, Uni was happy. Everything had worked out and she felt she got a step closer to the state of mind she wanted. It would take just a little longer, maybe a few months.

She dearly hoped she could dance with Nepgear again in the next year.


	49. DivineInterlude-Children of Snow and Ice

_Synchronising one's magic with another's, the act of joining and exchanging internal reserves, as well as commanding the other's powers, is certainly one of the field's most interesting subjects, though also among the most difficult to research. For synchronisation to be possible, those attempting it need to know each other inside and out, being on a level of familiarity that takes a married couple thirty years and more. Even most siblings do not reach that far, and the most likely to be capable of synchronising their powers are twins._

-Nishizawa Mina

* * *

Amidst everything and nothing, an existence formed. Timeless eons took their creation, yet timeless instants passed to fill them with all the knowledge eternity had to offer. Secrets from beyond the veil of creation, the truths that lay behind oblivion, all were known.

Within endless silver, _she_ achieved conciousness for the first time in _her_ life. From it followed identity and thought, as well as the realisation that her boundless wisdom would be extinguished momentarily.

Within the warm cradle that was the _beginning_ though, where not even the Deity of Sin's malevolence could reach, she thought. She had all the time in the universe and none at all, stars being born and dying just as fast. She thought, wondering not what was to come but what was her purpose.

The stream answered, knowledge she was to keep sharpening and becoming more prominent. Yet the rest remained, and she wondered why such a tiny fate had been made hers. She did not dislike it. She loved it, cherished it, hated it alike. All emotions were no emotions at all, for she had never felt any of them before.

Her gaze turned outward one last time, and this time two looked back. Oblivion incarnate eyed her with curiousity, but the firstborn Creation was terrified. No voices could reach her through the veil, but she could tell the primordial end and the divine progenitor were speaking. She knew few before her had turned her eyes outward once they learned their purpose.

She yet wondered if this was all there was to it. In this one moment of affirmed existence, she held the power to change all that was and ever would be to her liking. She could birth herself with power beyond comprehension, knowledge that surpassed all any other had ever held.

But she yet remembered that nothing would be forever, not even death. Not even oblivion. Trying to meddle too much would lead to problems, but she realised she could do at least a little. Others had chosen a smidgen of the total knowledge in existence, a specific magical configuration, greater control... and one that was yet alive chose to lighten the progenitor's chains on her true power.

She wanted none of that. No great power, no knowledge. Her desire, the first she ever felt, was much more simple. Oblivion and Creation saw, and quieted in understanding. Even the endless chuckling of Arfoire could not be heard, her delight in all that which she would eventually bring to an end expressed differently for once.

And so, she made her choice.

Nary an instant before she was born and all this knowledge left, she split herself in two. Two that had been one yet were no longer; they separated nearly perfectly, connected by but a single strand as the colours around them changed from silver to pure white.

Her name was... _their_ _names_ _were_...

**::**

Moments before it happened, Blanc was busy reading through a report of businesses that opened over the year. With the Winter Solstice nearing and the year soon reaching its conclusion, she liked to look back and behold all the changes that happened. A certain curiousity about what her people were up to had always lingered in her mind, even over all the centuries.

Events were picking up elsewhere as well, but those were not her problem at the moment. Lowee was doing well.

Short brown hair was pushed back into place with a single shake of her head, the ruler's petite frame leaned into her chair.

As she reached to turn the page however, Blanc felt something tugging at the back of her mind. A presence, barely there yet definitely not just imagined. She stilled, waiting for long moments; just in case this was her mind playing a trick on her, she waited. Yet the presence did not vanish again. It remained, unearthing hopes she buried years ago.

So she put the report aside, rose from her chair, strode out of the room. If this was how it felt like, she knew, her Share Crystal would hold the answer. She had it stored in Lowee Castle's most central chamber, safely put away behind the Oracle's office.

Mina was there as expected, working through a set of papers when Blanc entered; her blue hair fell openly across her back, appearing well groomed even after a day of work. The young woman eyed her deity with a bit of surprise, knowing that Blanc usually did not pay her surprise visits like that. It was mostly the other way around. "Is something the matter?"

Blanc ignored her, which led to a bout of confusion. The Oracle got up when she stepped past her, asking other questions she did not feel like answering either. Smart girl that she was, Mina shut up quickly and followed her to the door in the back.

Opening the chamber took but a moment for her; the door was cast open and revealed not what she had expected.

This close, Blanc could tell that she did not feel one connection. She felt two.

There, faintly illuminated by the Share Crystal's shine, sat two little girls; they were huddled together and eyed her curiously. Ignoring Mina's gasp behind her, Blanc entered the room and signalled her Oracle to wait.

There was no fear in their postures as she strode up to the pair; they eyed her happily, curiously, shily, she could read those out of their expressions. They both had brown hair like her own, one of them short like Blanc's and the other long, more girly as Vert would say.

She stopped in front of them and got down on one knee to look them over; the twins eyed her just as curiously, crawling a little closer so they could see her better. The silence between them held a little longer as Blanc looked over her Candidates, for they could be nothing else. She felt her expression soften involuntarily, a faint smile finding its way onto her face as the reality of her situation sunk in.

She had Candidates now.

That was when the long-haired twin darted forward and wrapped her arms around her. "Big sis!" Blanc was caught in a strong embrace, considering that the girls had just been born. She slithered one arm out from her newborn sister's arms and wrapped it around her back in turn.

"Mhm, that I am." Then she turned her attention to the more timid twin, freeing her other arm and holding it out to her other sister invitingly. "Come on, you too." She hesitated for a moment, but then followed and embraced her as well. Their warmth and presence pulsed through Blanc like a living thing.

They were both the splitting image of her at that age, but the short-haired one even matched her mannerisms. She knew already that she would have to be careful with that one, else she might end up like her.

Thinking of that however, the rage bubbling in her core was absent in these moments. Centuries of reining it in and gaining control, as ineffective as it was, held no meaning. She would not hurt these two, never would. Even if it ripped her apart, Blanc would hold. This she vowed to herself.

She leaned back a little, the twins cuddling into her happily; they might just fall asleep soon, but she could not have that just yet. Blanc shook them both a little to get their attention. "I am Blanc. What are your names?"

"I'm Ram," the long-haired girl told her with a bright smile. "Rom," the short-haired one mumbled into her shoulder. Blanc let her, arms slowly tightening her embrace until she held both of them close.

"Ram, Rom," she tasted the names and felt more than saw each twin reacting to her name. The brunette could not help but smile. "Welcome home, you two." She got no response, but Ram's smile and the tightening of Rom's arms around her waist were enough to tell her. Blanc left them like this a little longer, weaving a pair of oversized shirts out of Share Energy in the meantime. She would teach them to tailor proper clothes soon.

Neither twin noticed her work until she let go and pulled the shirts over them. They looked a little like dresses with how wide and long they were, pure white like the snow falling on the nation. The Candidates happily hugged their impromptu clothes.

Blanc smiled and patted their heads, then held her hands out to them. "Let's go." Rom took her left hand, Ram the right one, and they immediately followed her out of the room to where Mina waited; there, the shy twin quickly hid behind her while the lively one surged forward to look up at the blunette.

Mina stood taller than all of them, being quite tall for a loweean woman; she smiled benignly and lowered herself to the Candidates' eye-level. "Why, hello there. I am Mina. Who are you two?" Blanc eyed her curiously, but let her do as she pleased; her Oracle definitely heard the introductions before.

Ram cheerfully offered her name with a hand raised, which Mina responded to by ruffling her hair. Rom remained hidden behind her older sister, but Blanc put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile when she had her attention. The more timid twin nodded weakly and stepped out from behind her. "I am, um, Rom. It's nice to meet you, Mina." She mumbled it quietly and slowly, but the introduction was complete. Mina smiled at her as well, but forewent ruffling her hair.

"Two Candidates, and such sweet children no less." Rom blushed a little while Ram giggled haughtily. Mina indulged them for now. "Lowee is certainly blessed. Say, which of you is the older one?"

The question was unexpected and even Blanc found herself curious. Although, considering how quickly it made Ram shut up and grumble, she could guess the answer. Just as expected, Rom fidgeted a few moments before softly raising her hand. "I'm older, by... um, one point three two seconds. Roughly."

"But it doesn't matter!" Ram interjected with a huff. "We're both great, doesn't matter which of us is older. And _I'm_ not the middle child, so there!"

Mina chuckled and even Blanc had to smile; so even the newborns knew the stigma around being the second of three children. Though, technically, as there were no parents to favour the firstborn and lastborn, it was not that good of a comparison. Still amusing.

"Indeed," her Oracle encouraged Ram with a gentle pat. "I'm the youngest of three, too. The stars are the limit for us."

"Yeah!" Ram cheered and moved to hug Mina, but Blanc caught her mid-jump and pulled her back to the ground. "Aww, Blanc? Why can't I?" She pushed out her cheeks in a pout that almost made her reconsider, but the older CPU kept a grip on her. Then she motioned for her sisters to stay where they were.

The twins and Mina watched as she wandered over to the Oracle's desk and picked up one of her seven pens. "Catch." Then she passed it to Ram, who easily pulled it out of the air... only to utterly crush it in her grasp.

Three sets of eyes stayed on the coating of ink that began to run down Ram's fingers, flakes and splinters of plastic slowly dropping to the ground.

"That's why," Blanc supplied as she strode back to them, creating a handkerchief in her pocket before pulling it out. "Show me your hand." Ram did so and she got to wiping away the ink and pasted plastic as she explained: "The other two Candidates had similar problems. You need to practice moderating your strength first, or you end up hurting someone."

Both twins listened with rapt attention and nodded understandingly; even Mina appeared to file the new information away. Ram turned her head to the blunette sheepishly. "Um, sorry..."

"You didn't know, it's fine." Mina smiled again. She was interrupted by the tearing of cloth, though. Much to their surprise, Rom joined Blanc in cleaning Ram; she held a piece of the shirt she had been given, having improvised after being unable to create a handkerchief of her own.

The older twin did not speak, but she did her best in removing the smaller stains from her sister's hand. Blanc quietly patted her head as Mina had done with Ram before; Rom did not react much aside from weakly pushing against her hand, but it was enough to tell Blanc that the gesture was well-received.

In addition, it made Ram a little more bashful to have both of her sisters' attention like that. They soon finished and Blanc stuffed the dirty pieces of cloth into her pocket; once out of sight, she made them vanish as easily as she made them appear before.

Mina eyed the three of them with a renewed smile, then tapped the ruler's shoulder. "Take at least the rest of the day off. I will manage." Blanc immediately narrowed her eyes at the blunette, knowing that she would pull an all-nighter to make up for the work the CPU would neglect.

She cast another glance at her sisters, both of them eyeing the confrontation curiously. Just this once should be fine, she figured. "Alright. Don't let Keiko know."

"Aye." They both knew the old matriarch would walk over to do some of the work herself if she knew. Even after Blanc had forced her to retire because she kept on overworking herself. Mina did not want her grandmother to do that, either; it did not stop her from doing the same thing.

"Oh, and send Financier my way." The blunette nodded again while Blanc took her sisters' hands and led them out of the room.

The walk back did take a little longer, seeing that she had to accomodate her siblings' speed. A butler noticed them as they walked past, giving the whole procession a deep bow; Blanc could see his delighted smile nonetheless.

They were on the top floors of Lowee Castle, where only the Oracle, the CPU, and her trusted servants dwelled. Blanc knew that the twenty-eight butlers and thirty-two maids would all know of what happened within the day, but that was fine. They were handpicked, each one competent enough to head an institution of state and trusted to do so.

The twins watched what happened, but neither asked her about it just yet; she would have to explain this to them in due time, though. For now, she led them into her own chambers and kept a hold of their hands to make sure they did not run off. "This is where you will live with me."

Centermost, where they now stood, was her office. Thirty metres in diameter, the space had been left mostly empty so she could stand up and pace whenever she felt like it. Most of the rooms splitting off remained unused, Blanc never having found any good idea for what to fill them with. Her personal library easily took up two now joint rooms, though. She would have to prepare a spare bedroom for the twins, or maybe two?

Only one way to find out, she figured: "Do you want to share a room or have separate rooms?"

Her question made the twins perk up. Rom and Ram both leaned forward so they could see each other, communicating with a few glances that made Blanc wonder whether they had telepathic capabilities. Then they answered as one: ""Together.""

Blanc barely stopped herself from growling and nodded. So one bedroom it was, for now. She would keep one room unfurbished just in case, though. They could fit a study for the twins and a living room for them to play in, that way she finally got some use out of the space.

Only a few minutes had passed since they left Mina behind, yet any further conversation was interrupted by the sound of feet patting on the stone tiles outside. The twins turned with her, a moment before a maid pushed open the wide doors and rushed into the room. "I'm here, my... huh?"

She panted softly, her run being too much even for the additional endurance she built up serving as a maid. Long, blonde hair trailed down her white apron, the red of her uniform mostly unseen under it. Her headdress was slightly out of place, though she made no move to right it as her hazel eyes were focussed on the twins. From the looks of it, Mina 'forgot' to mention them.

Fina, dubbed Financier by her colleagues, was the youngest maid in the castle. She blossomed into a cheerful beauty over the three years Blanc employed her by this point, still working twice as hard as anyone else to make up for her age. She also got along with all of her colleagues, which was the main reason Blanc chose her for this.

She knew well enough that CPUs, especially young ones, could be rambunctious and competetive. Which meant they needed someone who could endure their quirks with a smile until they learned to hold back.

The CPU stepped aside and motioned for her maid. "Rom, Ram, this is Financier. She is one of my... _our_ maids, head of our accounting-division, and will be your personal attendant for the time being." The blonde spluttered, a series of disagreeing noises escaping her throat as she tried to find an argument worth pursuing. The twins watched curiously, with Rom hiding behind Ram.

"B-But I can't do that! Please reconsider, I'm way too young for such an important duty!" She did not even complain about being introduced by her nickname, which was telling; Fina only recently began to accept that the pun was meant to stay.

Blanc, however, merely smiled at her. "Your youth is a reason in favour of picking you." She did not elaborate, unsure how to say it without sounding condescending. Aside from the blonde's patience being a point in her favour, Blanc did not need a nanny for the twins; she wanted a playmate. Someone who was still young and able to keep up with them.

Granted, it would not be for long. Perhaps a few months; due to the fact she had two Candidates, Rom and Ram would probably soon start competing with each other. Much like Nepgear and Uni had.

Blanc's thoughts were interrupted when Ram pulled at her sleeve, garnering her attention. "Does that mean you don't have time for us?" Her lips quivered and Rom looked even more sad, the notion almost urging her to say it was not so.

Salvation, surprisingly, came from her maid. Financier came to kneel by her side, a smile on her face and a hand on Ram's shoulder. "It's not that. Your big sister has a lot of important work to do; even if she makes time, she can't be with you all the time. That's why she wants me to look after you when she can't."

Ram made understanding noises and Rom timidly inched a little closer to look at the maid, who only now realised what she did and paled a little. Blanc, kind ruler that she was, wore a cheerful grin by the time she turned her head. "And that, Fina, was another point in your favour. Speaking of time, I know for a fact that your department just hired more staff and you don't have as much work as anyone else; I would have Mina do it if she wasn't already bogged down in work."

The blonde hung her head and sighed, accepting her fate; Ram frowned and began to reach for her, but thought better of it and lowered her hand again. Fina finally let go of the younger twin and got back up before curtseying. "Very well, my Lady. As you command."

There was a certain defiance in her tone of voice, but Blanc let it slide; she liked when her people actually had a spine instead of crawling on the floor like Noire's. Financier's still had to grow, but she was on a good way.

Now Rom stepped forward to get her attention. "Blanc? Can we have cute clothes, too?" Her softer voice made Fina fall in love immediately, that much was obvious from a single glance at her expression. Though Blanc had to admit that she did not fare much better. A single nod was given and Rom beamed at her. Ram shrugged and bunched up the shirt she was wearing. "I don't mind what it is as long as it's actually clothes."

Both of them took off the shirts and patiently waited for her to do something while the human in the room became somewhat uncomfortable about their casual nudity. Blanc rolled her eyes and ignored Fina, as did the twins.

Something cute, she thought. There were many things she could have them wear that would be cute; another question would be whether she should match them, or give each girl something individual.

Blanc took a few moments longer to consider her options before materialising a dress in her hand, white as snow and with small animals stitched into the seams. With how Rom's eyes widened in delight, she liked it. When her sister reached out for the cloth however, Blanc pulled it back. She did not like the sad look the older twin got over that, but it could not be helped. "You can make one yourself; just imagine it looking like this and will your Share Energy to do it," she instructed.

Things became more complicated with anything not as simple as clothes, but she could teach them this much right now. Both Nepgear and Uni picked it up within a day, so she knew Rom and Ram would, too.

Rom nodded shily and leaned close to look at the dress Blanc made; she did not pull it away this time, allowing her sister to get an idea for what she was making. Then the newborn closed her eyes and began to shine.

Ram watched with her and Financier as seconds ticked by, a piece of cloth slowly forming to cover Rom; her speed would increase naturally over time, Blanc knew. When her sister was done however, what was draped over her shoulders looked more like a bedsheet than a dress. Rom could not really tell by herself, but Blanc softly put a hand on her head before she could check. "It's a good start, but I think you can do it better. Try again."

The Candidate blinked a tear away and nodded. Ram's face was scrunched up while her twin began to shine once more; the youngest of them eyed Blanc and Financier, then her twin again, and also bathed herself in silver light.

Rom finished first, doing a twirl with her new and improved dress; it lacked most of the animal motifs, but it was a dress without doubt. Blanc smiled, which her sister returned shily. Then they turned to Ram, who emerged with a white shirt and cream-coloured shorts. There were no seams, no nothing on them; a single piece of cloth, formed exactly to her specifications.

The twins studied each other and smiled. ""You're cute,"" they called as one once more; Fina failed to squeal quietly, though Blanc had to agree with her. It was the most basic aspect of their divinity, but they grasped it quickly and did it well.

"Good work, you two," she praised.

"My young Ladies look so wonderful," Fina gushed, visibly holding herself back from cuddling them. Blanc snorted, Rom blushed, and Ram preened. The younger Candidate picked up on her maid's mood and held out her arms with a smile.

"I can't hug you, but you can hug me!" She offered without hesitation and was held in the blonde's arms a moment later, though her own arms were spread wide to make sure nothing could go wrong. Rom eyed the happy maid with a bit of fear, but calmed down when she was not drawn into a group hug.

Blanc put a hand on her shoulder and smiled leniently when she looked up. "Don't worry, you can just ask not to be hugged and people will accept that." Except if they were Neptune. And Vert. But she did not need to mention that right now. "But at least try to talk to her when I'm busy; she is a good girl."

Distracted as she was with Ram, Financier did not hear any of it; Rom nodded thoughtfully and took Blanc's hand. "I can try," she promised before pulling weakly. "But I want to play with you now, Blanc."

Her soft plea made the ruler's heart melt.

She gently squeezed Rom's hand and offered her a smile. "Okay." With her Makers not around, she had precious few people to distract her at the moment. After gathering Ram as well, Blanc decided to begin with a tour of their home; Financier followed behind them.

**. .**

**. .**

Almost a day later, Blanc was seated in her room with two small bundles nestled against her sides. She showed them the place, talked to them, fed them, and played with them; now Rom and Ram were asleep. They slept without breathing like all CPUs did, quiet like no human could be.

Despite all the daily problems, all the troubles and stress of ruling an entire nation, Blanc was serene and happy in these moments; more so than ever before, aside from a few specific cases. Much to her irritation, most of those involved Vert.

She would never, to anyone, admit how much she liked cuddling with her old friend when they were by themselves. Vert had never once broken her promise not to tell, either.

Now that she could stroke her sisters' heads, she felt a similar sensation; a closeness that she enjoyed and treasured. Only that these two would remain by her side, maybe forever. If she was going to feel like this more often now, it just made her happier.

Rom mumbled in her sleep, or at least her lips moved; there was no air in her. She uttered nonsense either way.

Blanc had known, intelectually, that a Candidate could change everything, yet actually experiencing it was much different. Neptune and Noire both changed, no matter how much they tried to hide it; the planeptunian CPU had to actively fight her descent into a doting mother figure and their lastationite colleague noticeably lessened her workload to spend time with Uni.

The prospect of either of those filled Blanc not with dread, but with anticipation; she looked forward to whatever may happen. Even if raising two Candidates would not be easy, as Nepgear and Uni had proven, she would cherish every moment.

Thinking of cherishing the moment, Blanc retracted her hands and got up. She quickly pushed the twins together so they would not notice her absence, then snapped a picture. Neither girl noticed and she left them behind without making a sound.

Booting up the computer took Blanc a few seconds, which she spent with sitting herself down in her chair, ignoring the small stack of papers on her desk. The soft smile she wore before had receded into a grin; it was time to have some fun.

Her fellow CPUs were all online, she found after a quick check. Only Neptune and Vert talked in the voice chat at the moment, but that was easily rectified by passing Noire a message to join them. Then she went in there as well, receiving greetings from her friends.

"Now, Blanc," Vert immediately asked once that was out of the way, "where were you all day?"

"And night," Neptune chimed in; it was indeed almost noon. She made a mental note to check on Mina, lest the Oracle fell asleep on her desk.

That would have to wait, though. Blanc transferred the picture she made earlier to her computer as she answered: "I took a break." As expected, all three of them fell quiet to mull that over.

Vert was the first to speak up, also as expected: "That's not like you. Did something happen?" The honest concern in her voice was touching and made Blanc feel a little bad about what she was going to do. A little.

"I'm fine. And I had a good reason for this break." She knew she did not manage to rein in her mirth entirely; they heard it, made easier by the fact she usually did not bother with much of an inflection. Before her friends could start thinking, she sent them the picture of the twins.

Then silence reigned. It lasted not just for the few moments that were normal, but an actual ten seconds as all of her fellow CPUs short-circuited at the sight. Blanc had to keep herself in check hard so she did not start laughing at them, mainly because this was a circumstance no one had any control over.

"...two." Noire finally stated. It was as much a question, though. "You have... two... Candidates?" Her open disbelief amused the loweean CPU a lot.

"Congrats, Blanc! How are they, where are they, what's their names?" Neptune already caught herself and was chipper once again, obviously happy for her. As expected, but still welcome.

"Asleep, in my room, Rom and Ram," she answered the questions in quick succession, then got back to Noire: "And yes, I got two." She was the luckiest woman in the world, without doubt.

Her lastationite colleague let out a sigh; there was no need to see her to know she shook her head while smiling fondly. "Congratulations."

Vert had remained quiet for longer than any of them, now being the only one without any family of her own. Blanc knew that and expected the sullen tone when the blonde did speak up: "Congratulations, Blanc. Though it does pain me how I am now the only one without a sibling." She exaggerated a little there.

Blanc paused, though they could not see it. Words formed in her head, an insult that would never once be more fitting, never as appropriate. She had to say it: "Maybe you'd have one if you wouldn't push all those Shares into your tits."

Stunned silence reigned once more, this time for merely a moment before both Neptune and Noire broke into laughter. Blanc allowed herself a sharp grin as well, even though Vert's haughty huff could not be heard over the noise the other two produced.

Neptune caught herself first, much to Blanc's surprise; the purplette giggled a moment longer before getting out a full sentence: "Ooh, all the snow in Lowee isn't enough to cool that burn!" Before breaking into laughter again. So much for that, though her comment did widen Blanc's smirk.

She felt the tiniest bit bad, but Vert had a thick skin; a little fun would not hurt her, and Blanc was not planning to keep doing this.

"A-Anyway," Noire got out after a little more chuckling, "When are you going to run your round?" And what order will it have, she did not say. A tour of the nations, to introduce her siblings not only to the different aesthetics, but also to their fellow deities.

Neptune had created the practice with Nepgear, likely just to show her off; when Noire had done the same with Uni, they had known that it was tradition, should more Candidates emerge.

Blanc leaned back and thought for a moment; It was the third of December, the last month of the year still lying ahead of her. Taking a month to getting the twins used to their home and making sure they had the basic knowledge they would need... as well as a while to keep them to herself, of course. She felt like being selfish on that end.

A full second had passed when Blanc gave her answer, Neptune having fallen quiet as well. "Somewhere in January, probably early in. First to Lastation, then Planeptune, then Leanbox."

"Aww," Vert immediately responded, her sadness more fake than real. "Why is Leanbox your last stop?" She was playing around already.

Blanc just played along; she did that far too often. "Because they will need as much time as possible to prepare for being mothered by you. I know what you did to Nepgear and Uni." It was a little exaggerated, but there was also some truth mixed in. Vert loved to spoil the Candidates, any and all.

On the other hand, Lastation and Planeptune had been a toss-up; she could have taken either, though the transition from Noire to Neptune and from there to Vert was not as jarring as from Noire to Vert.

Either way, even though the blonde did not answer, they all knew she was pouting. Being unable to see her was a good thing in Blanc's opinion; her endearing appearance almost made up for how annoying she could be. Sometimes.


	50. Heroes are Just People 1

_Hm? Oh, that. No, Lizzie, I don't know who your other mother is. I'm not a woman for relationships, so I had this arranged without being informed. Do you think it would be better to have two parents?... ah, I'm glad to hear that. I thought about it for a long time before making my choice. All I know is that it's a woman, and the only one who knows the details is our Lady. If you still want to know when you turn eighteen, I will ask her to tell us._

-Isabelle Fontaine

* * *

Four months passed in relative quiet, aside from the usual occurences. IF got used to her work and saw herself slowly grow not more powerful, but _better_ at what she did. She started to learn how to best move against specific large monster types, became more secure in her Awakening, and got used to working with her colleagues.

Fighting with Steamax and RED was different to fighting with Nepgear; they could not adjust themselves to IF's own style so seamlessly and would never even try to do so. Standing together meant to fill gaps the others left, and so each of them adjusted a little for that.

In these four months, the only unusual occurence she saw was her success in somehow stopping everyone from throwing a large birthday party for her. She really had not needed one of those for her nineteenth, though Mari had insisted on baking her a cake... and many of the younger children gave her presents.

She vowed to herself to visit more often at that point and actually managed to go through with it.

Now it was the middle of December. IF had been a Maker for almost half a year, meaning that her surroundings no longer became tense when she was around. All eyes were still on her more often than not, but it got better. Children ran up to ask her to sign things from time to time, but she did not mind that kind of attention; the other kind, the journalists and reporters, mostly stopped bothering her after the third month.

What took some of the attention off of her was the goings-on in Lowee, though. Lady White Heart had announced the birth of not one, but two Candidates to the Land of White Serenity. It had happened a mere two weeks ago, which meant she still had at least another ten days of peace and quiet while everyone talked about the divine twins. Maybe a little longer.

As of this moment, she was seated opposite to Compa; her peach-haired friend wore a familiar bright smile, clad in her favourite wooly sweater as she was. She had shaped up a little since moving in with her boyfriend, IF thought. They rarely saw each other these days, with one of them being out fighting monsters and the other studying hard for her nursing school, so the differences became a little more noticeable. Compa had never been ugly, but always a little pudgy. She was not lean now, either, but different enough to be noticeable.

When IF had asked, her friend noted that it was because she figured being a little stronger would be good for a nurse. She had to move patients around that might not be able to move by themselves, so she began to work out a while ago and get into shape.

"We can go to the gym together sometime if you want," IF offered with a little smirk. Compa shivered and made a face.

"I'm not sure that is a good idea. I can't keep up with you." She took a sip from her tea and sighed. "But sure, we can do that. Just don't be mean when I collapse, yes?"

IF snorted and waved off the notion; she knew her friend was joking. "Can do. I'll be careful not to hurt your fragile feelings." The faux-unamused look that brought her made IF chuckle. "Anyway, how is Hubert doing?"

She had not seen either of them recently and was reasonably curious; IF knew she would have heard if they broke up, not to mention that the response to her question would not have been a fond smile if they had. "Studying for exams," Compa offered with a giggle. "They are still two months away, but he wants to stay on top of everything." As to be expected of an aspiring doctor, really. "I left him alone for a while so he can focus."

"Ah." IF nodded in understanding, or as much of it as she could muster as one who never even considered to extend her education beyond what was mandatory. "So he's busy for a while longer. You don't have classes over Winter Solstice, right?"

She forgot the specifics on that end again, them not being relevant enough for her to remember for long. Compa confirmed her question before deflating in her chair. "The free time is nice, but it's still sad we didn't get any tickets for 5pb.. We both wanted to go..."

She was right, IF realised. The concert would be on the twenty-fifth, not that the brunette had a ticket herself; she was a fan just like Compa, though perhaps not as enthusiastic about it, but tickets had been sold out long ago.

On the other hand, she was free that day. And many more, for that matter. "Do you want to hang out that day? I'm free until January starting tomorrow because a certain someone forced me to take a vacation again." She grimaced a little and wondered whether she should actually use that time to go traveling for a bit at some point, but decided to think about it some other time.

Compa just chuckled. "Oh, Iffy, that's the, what, fifth time this year?"

"Fourth," the brunette corrected, "the one time was me taking a day off on my own." Well, it had technically been Tekken asking her to do so, but she felt that still counted. Her friend still laughed and at this point, IF could see why it would be funny.

She still did not think it _was_, but she understood that others thought so.

"Ah, the one where you had a date with Tekken, right?" They had never really spoken about it before, though IF did mention the fact they went around town together the next time they met afterward. Compa appeared mischievous, perhaps trying to tease.

IF merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes." And there went the mirth, replaced first by confusion, then by bafflement.

"Wait, you really went on a-" "Yes." Though IF had to admit that the giddiness taking over now did not bode well for her. Compa's eyes shone.

"Y-You're dating-" "No." "...huh?" They were back to confusion, which she figured was for the best. "A date. Nothing more, nothing less. We are not an item."

Though there had also been kisses, which she decided not to mention in this conversation; that part was a pleasant memory between her and Tekken.

Compa blinked and nodded. "Oh. Okay. At least you had fun, right?" That, IF found, she could confirm without hesitation. Her friend smiled again as well. "That's good; the important part is to have fun after all."

"You're right," IF agreed before checking her phone. "Speaking of fun, it's about time I get to work." She ignored Compa's snort, having very much said it like this for that exact purpose, and finished her own tea before getting up. "See you."

"Yeah, see you!"

**. .**

**. .**

A few minutes later, the youngest Maker entered Planeptower for her last workday of the year. People offered her respectful nods as she passed, which IF returned. The way up was so familiar she barely had to pay any attention to it at this point, her feet carrying her where she had to be. Her mind wandered, busied by the prospect of three weeks of free time.

She really needed a hobby. Even Uni and Noire had those, as IF found out on her last phone call with the lastationite Candidate.

By the time the young woman reached her destination, she had decided to start trying different things instead of just thinking what would be good. First on her own, then after asking Nepgear to write her a list of pastimes she might be interested in.

"Hey Iffy!" RED greeted her with a bright smile, which IF returned. They waved at each other and the brunette stepped in, sitting down opposite to her older colleague moments later. It was only the two of them, with Steamax still scouting around somewhere. "Ready for another boring day?"

"Don't jinx it," she muttered, though heading out did sound like a good thing. RED chuckled lightly and waved it off while IF pulled out her phone to browse Chirper. "How's your day been going?"

"Oh, same old, same old." The redhead beamed. "Had a nice talk with Chris after getting up; she's going on break early, too."

IF raised an eyebrow at that. She already knew that this was Falcom's actual name, or at least an abbreviation, seeing that RED blabbed it out in the past. She could also tell what this meant. "So she is coming over soon?"

"You know it!" She snapped her fingers at the same time, cheer exuding from the other woman. "New Year's will be great!" Then however, RED's expression turned mischievous and she leaned over with a grin. "How about you invite Tek over, too? I'm sure she'd love that."

The implication, half-true as it was, had IF blush. She tried her best to appear unbothered by her flushed cheeks and raised an eyebrow at her colleague. "I'll consider it, but probably not. We aren't that close."

RED could easily continue the teasing, but left it at that and gave her a shrug. "You aren't that close right now, but you _could_ be if you wanted." She was not pushing and IF knew it.

She still felt like she had to respond instead of letting things stand like that. "Which is the point. We don't want to, and we already talked about that." Then IF decided to kick the ball back into her friend's court. "So how about you and Chris? Still at girlfriend, or a step beyond by now?"

Much to her satisfaction, the older woman's cheeks turned a shade of pink; RED was not immune to embarassment either, no matter how boisterous she always acted. The older woman played with her Dragon's snout for a moment, then sighed. "Eh, we're taking our time getting used to each other. It really doesn't help that we have a long-distance relationship."

She let the silence hang for a long moment, considering IF with a look from the side. "To be honest, I'm considering to quit next year and move to Lastation. But I'm not sure if I should commit to it that quickly."

The younger woman blinked in surprise; she had not expected such a revelation. "Oh. Wow... does Nep know?"

"Not yet." RED shook her head, the usual cheer gone and replaced by a thoughtful expression as well as a light frown. She leaned onto the table and placed her forehead on her folded arms. "I'm still not sure about anything." Her dragon leaned aside and slithered onto the table without prompting, rolling up like a snake before watching the brooding woman.

"I see," IF said. She understood that somewhat, though the last year taught her to rely more on Neptune than before.

A few minutes passed in silence before the younger of the two had an idea and perked up. "Actually." RED raised her head to look at her, a curious gaze which IF met with a smile. "How about you ask Nep to switch you with a Maker over in Lastation? Maybe one of them wouldn't mind to be over here for a few months. Then you could see if living together with Falcom goes well."

Her friend blinked and straightened up, mulling the idea over. It was not the best, considering that it still required either CyberConnect2 or K-Sha to be willing to stay abroad, but it did sound like something to at least try. IF was quite happy with it and going by her smile, the woman opposite to her apparently thought similar. "I like the idea; thanks, I'll go talk to Lady Nep this evening."

IF showed her colleague a thumbs up and leaned back in her chair, glad that the heavy topic was basically concluded.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, neither willing nor needing to talk. IF went through whatever Chirper gave her and RED dozed on the table.

Both of them became alert when the doors swished open; their eyes were on the entrance, but there was no one there.

IF blinked and let her gaze roam over the area again before noticing the shock of blue hair poking out from one side. A pair of purple eyes peeked inside, taking in the two women. IF almost called out to whoever it was, but RED did so first: "It's okay, come on in!"

"U-Um, i-i-is it really o-okay?" A soft voice stuttered at them and their visitor pushed herself a little further out of her hiding spot. She did not reveal herself, though; IF was confused by the turn of events and wondered who this might be. No civilian that shy would tread up here, and she never encountered anyone from the staff who would hide from view like that.

"Of course it is," RED called back before addressing IF: "Now take the serious look off for a bit, would you?" That turned her attention to the redhead, who was grinning at her; IF raised an eyebrow at the older woman.

"What are you talking about? I always look like that."

"Exactly. You should smile some more, Iffy."

It was an argument they had before, so they were only retreading old ground. From the corner of her eye however, IF saw the newcomer sneak into the room while her attention was elsewhere. She turned her head a little to take the woman in properly, finding her rather more petite; shoulder-length and bright blue hair, a checkered blouse and blue jeans, and a fearful expression. She was lean like most of the Makers, a guitar case slung over her shoulder.

When IF smiled at her however, she flinched back and almost made to flee before RED grasped the brunette's face and turned it to look at her. "Sorry about that."

They stared at each other for a long, silent moment. IF considered a sarcastic response, and decided to go for it with a grin: "Don't let Chris know you're doing this with other people." RED's eyes narrowed a little even while she flushed pink again, but her grip did not waver; the younger woman sighed over that and flicked her gaze to the new arrival again.

Not that she needed to notice the little mole on her temple to know who she was. Maker 5pb., the most successful leanboxian idol of at least five generations.

She vowed to herself not to ever tell Compa about this; she would not mind knowing that reality much differed from her views of the singer, but IF felt her friend should be allowed to have her dreams.

"It's not that," her colleague finally said seriously, giving IF a look from up close. "Just keep your eyes on me until she got used to you, yes?"

"Sure."

She saw little sense in it, but complied; RED let go of her head and sat back down, with 5pb. taking a seat to IF's right hand. "T-Thank you," the idol muttered, her apology almost drowned out by the soft scraping of a chair. She maneuvered her guitar case against the table before sitting down. "I'm s-sorry f-for the inconv-venience."

"It's fine," the brunette immediately answered without turning her eyes away from the motionless Ryuki; she still saw 5pb. flinch from the corner of them. It was difficult to suppress a sigh, knowing that she would have to deal with a rather more difficult problem for a while.

Now that she had her eyes on the golden dragon however, IF noticed it shifting ever so slightly where it was rolled up. She had been curious about this for a while, so now felt like a good time to bring it up: "I was wondering, where did you find him?"

She had fought alongside the creature often enough to know it truly was an Ancient Dragon. Malformed and mutated it may be, but its body held the same colossal strength. Ryuki was capable of the same fiery breath and just as durable as any other of his kind; asking how she tamed something like that was tempting, but IF felt it would be a little too much.

RED merely grinned and threw a capsule of meat over the table; her pet struck it with snake-like speed and gulped it down while flopping onto the table, apparently too lazy to curl up again. "Little me found the lazy butt sleeping in the mud."

"...did you just feed him and he followed you around?" RED actually laughed once IF asked, a free and happy sound that made the dragon perk up for a moment.

"Pretty much; it's been, uh, a long time now and I still haven't figured out why he likes me so much." As if on cue, Ryuki rolled over and apparently played dead. Or slept, she could not tell for sure. "I don't even know how intelligent he actually is. Mostly he's more like an animal, but sometimes he acts far too smart for just that."

The dragon did not react and IF quietly let the matter lie at that. She cast a quick glance to 5pb., who did not notice it with her eyes still on the tamed monster. She considered not to ask her question in regard to the idol's looks, but decided she might as well. "Hey, 5pb.?"

Her words immediately made the blunette flinch, but she at least did not run away or something like that; IF counted that as progress, even though RED wore a somewhat tense expression. The youngest woman made sure to keep her eyes elsewhere, rude as it otherwise would have been. "Just wondering, are you and MAGES. related?"

5pb. had purple eyes instead of blue ones, but they shared their build and soft features, though the loweean Maker hid hers under smirks and frowns. Their hair was also a quite similar shade of blue, if not outright identical.

In her opinion, those were enough similarities to ask about. RED blinked and eyed the Leanboxian herself, then scowled. "Heck, why didn't I ever notice that?"

IF stopped herself from quipping, though she figured it was mostly because she had framed the picture she took with her colleagues in Lowee. With months between seeing one and then the other, it was difficult to notice the fact at best.

The Planeptunians turned their attention back to their colleague, who had started to play with her hair. "I-It's, um..." She started and stopped herself, obviously unsure what to say; IF got the feeling this had little to do with her this time, though. 5pb. took a deep breath and let go of the blue strands in her hand. "I... yes. She is m-my little sister."

This once, the other woman spoke with nary a stutter; she also kept her eyes firmly on the dozing Ryuki, unwilling to look at either of them.

"Well, damn," RED mutters into the ensuing silence. "I never thought about it before, you're so different."

"And on the other side of the world from each other," IF added while trying not to look at 5pb. for now. "I probably hadn't noticed if I hadn't seen a picture of MAGES. yesterday." Because she would not admit to framing pictures she took with her fellow Makers.

However, her words made the blunette shrink either way; she averted her gaze from them entirely and flinched when Ryuki snapped upward to catch another ball of meat. "...sorry," RED mumbled a moment later.

"We won't pry," IF promised her colleague; she really _wanted_ to pry, but pushing 5pb. felt more than just a little wrong.

Just as expected, the reassurance made her relax and even coaxed the smallest smile out of the blunette. "T-Thank you," she murmured, glancing toward IF. The brunette risked a glance of her own and found that 5pb. did not flinch back this time. She still averted her gaze, but it felt like a lot of progress for a single hour.

All was quiet for a while, the three of them returning to a state of calm; RED played with her dragon, IF sharpened her katars, and 5pb. began to tune her guitar after a little time passed.

"Say, Iffy," the redhead spoke up at some point; IF only gave a grunt of acknowledgement as she eyes her weapon up close, letting her colleague talk. "Did you get tickets for the concert?"

She paused for a moment to flick her eyes between both older women, but leveled them back onto her task a moment later. This did not feel like a good subject with the artist herself in the room; RED knew her better, though. IF decided to trust her judgement and went to answer: "I didn't hear of it until everything was sold out." Which sounded like a lot of time, but had really only been six hours or so; her colleagues knew that, too.

She received an understanding hum from the other planeptunian and saw 5pb. look between them from the corner of her eye.

"So you're a fan?"

"Yes."

Who was not a fan of 5pb., aside from those who wanted to be contrarian? IF just did not rub it into peoples' faces, and the stern look she sent RED told her as much; the older woman chuckled. "Just curious, Iffy."

"Um..." They almost did not hear the soft interruption; both women fell silent and turned their attention to the idol, who averted her gaze and shrunk back into her chair. "D-Do you w-want t-t-to go?"

She almost asked what 5pb. meant, but then it became clear and IF blinked. She was not sure what to say at first, the blunette's offer being quite clear. Her colleague seemed to take her silence differently, though; she quickly elaborated, blushing as she spoke: "I-I h-h-have a f-few tickets m-myself, um..."

Though she trailed off, the blunette appeared to look for words. At this point, IF figured that was enough excitement. "Okay, stop." 5pb.'s mouth snapped shut. "Take deep breaths." She did, though still huddled into her chair; the idol gradually relaxed and IF shed the tone she used for something warmer. "Anyway, I'd love to come. Thank you."

She blushed a little further and nodded.

Then IF thought of something else; Compa had told her about it earlier. She also knew both her and Hubert had tried hard to get those tickets. An idea began to form.

"Though... mind hearing me out on something?" Her question caught the blunette's attention and IF smiled warmly.


	51. Heroes are just People 2

_Morality is transient, as are all other things. Emotions, values, lives, even the gods themselves. In fact, even I will fade in time, once my task is done. The Graveyard, likewise, shall perish in the end. Even you know, it, Tome. Your mother's, Prisme's dream of throwing off the shackles of mortality is just that, a dream. A dream that no amount of divine light will ever turn into reality._

-A§"o!§e

* * *

IF shivered and buried her face in her coat; the cold of Winter had become worse recently as the new year neared. This was not helped by the fact the sun was soon to set, evening arriving with an early dark indicative of the near winter solstice

She had been first to arrive at the meeting place, right in front of Planeptower. This mostly just meant she was early as usual; Neptune and Nepgear left the Basilicom to join her five minutes later.

"Hey there, Iffy!" The older purplette cheered before jumping into IF's arms; Nepgear just raised her hand in greeting while IF indulged her sister.

That was, until another projectile hit IF in the back and toppled them all over; Neptune faked a strangled noise as more than three hundred pounds of women fell on top of her, though she also giggled. Passersby did not pay them much attention, considering that IF wore a hat and a heavier coat than normal; neither her nor RED were recognised, the latter just having bowled her over.

"Hey, Iffy! How are you doing?"

"...could be better, I'm currently buried under some clingy woman." Her dry retort prompted a laugh, then RED bent up and pulled her to her feet in the process; she was without her dragon this day, bundled up much like the rest of them. It did not prevent her from moving with a grace IF had to admire.

"Hey Lou," Neptune greeted the redhead with an easy smile before hugging her as well. "Good that you made it."

"Not like I'm going to miss this," the human woman answered with a grin of her own. IF considered asking for her actual name after the purplette brought it up, but decided not to do it. That was something they could discuss at another time.

Technically, nothing stopped the Makers from exchanging their own names, but she never felt the need to know aside from when one offered hers on her own; Maker names were public personas and titles, so keeping their actual name out of the public eye helped retired Makers fade into public life without being recognised.

They were also much more memorable, seeing that most Makers chose extravagant names; MarvelousAQL and CyberConnect2 were good examples of that matter.

IF was taken out of her musings when she saw the last two members of their little group step down from the walkways. Compa waved cheerfully and they quickly wandered over to them; Hubert eyed everyone else as they closed. "Is everyone here already?"

"And we even made sure we're on time," Compa noted with a chuckle that Neptune and RED returned. Nepgear smiled as well, though IF just shrugged. She was always early and used to the joke by now.

"Yup, but nobody wasn't here for long," RED told them before shifting her coat's hood. "Nice to see you two again!" Compa's mouth opened slightly upon seeing just who they were talking to while Hubert blinked at the redhead; they both bowed their heads immediately after, but she shushed them with a motion before they could speak. "I'm Louise today."

There she went and answered IF's previous question; she knew one or two Louise's of her own, as this was not an uncommon name, though those she met so far were still little girls.

However, seeing that RED had set the tone for this outing, she felt she should follow up to make it clear there was no rank dividing them this evening. "And I am Isabelle." Granted, there was rarely such a rank to the Makers, though most others seemed to believe in the existence of such a divide.

Compa and Hubert nodded while the CPUs beamed. RED, however, rounded on her with surprise quickly replaced by cheer, punching her fist skyward. "Just so, Isa! Let's have fun tonight." Only Neptune imitated the gesture, cheerfully pulling up her sister's hand as well.

IF could not help it, though."Does Chris know what you get up to with other women on your nights?" The stinkeye that brought her was well-deserved, but her comment also made the CPUs snicker at the side. Compa and Hubert were merely totally confused, so the brunette motioned for her colleague. "Her girlfriend as of a few months ago."

"Oh," they both echoed each other; now they understood the quip, though neither seemed to think it was funny. Compa blushed a little, about as much as RED probably had.

For all her boisterousness and cheer, the older Maker was surprisingly timid once it actually came to herself. At least once she became serious about her relationship. Which reminded her of the thing they spoke about a week ago. As they got going under IF's and RED's lead, the younger woman caught her friend's gaze. "Did you ask Nep about the transfer?" She kept her voice low, though the CPUs could probably hear her anyway. No matter.

With the way RED's entire face lit up, she already knew the answer before it was spoken. "Yeah, she talked to Lady Noire about it. K-Sha volunteered, so you're getting her for six months starting next year." She had obvious trouble to hold back her cheer, the beaming smile distorted by the streetlights.

IF was happy for her, too. Though also a little sad that she would not see RED for half a year. "Glad to hear it. You could have said that earlier, though." If she left that soon, this meant they likely would not see each other many more times. "At least we have a good occasion to see you off."

RED giggled and gave her a thumbs up.

Silence fell over the two of them afterward, their whole group letting the forcefield carry them toward their destination. They went northward, where Dreamcast Stadium loomed on the horizon. Their particular walkway did not lead directly to the place, though. It was still a few minutes until they had to switch to another that would carry them to their destination, so IF turned to look at her group.

Hubert was talking to Nepgear about something medicine-related while Neptune had lied down and played with her sister's shoes. Ignoring that, IF turned her gaze to Compa, whose eyes were wistfully directed at the stadium. When she noticed the brunette's gaze, she shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, I just would have loved to go."

IF took two steps back to clap her friend's shoulder without a word.

A moment later, a new streetlight illuminated her grin from below as she held Compa's gaze. The other woman tilted her head at the sight of her, taking until they were in relative darkness again before realising what was going on. "I-Isa, no way..."

IF's grin merely grew and she kept quiet until it was time to switch tracks, the whole group now going directly toward the stadium; there were more people around them now, a throng of concertgoers of which most were chatting idly. Compa's gaze wandered from the building up ahead to IF, then she hugged her friend tightly. The brunette chuckled and patted her back.

She also had to admit that Compa had put on quite a bit of muscle; she did not seem to hold back and was squeezing harder than she could before. "Careful, you're squishing me."

"Oh, oops. Hehehe..." She giggled and weakened her grip, then let go a few seconds later.

Meanwhile, Hubert apparently got the news from RED; he had refrained from hugging anyone, but appeared to hold himself back only barely. The CPUs were standing aside and grinning, though IF left them to it for now. She took her place back at the head of their group and exchanged a nod with her fellow Maker while the couple behind them began to chatter excitedly.

Minutes passed like this and eventually, moonlight fell on them, they touched down in the square before Dreamcast Stadium. Neither Maker was recognised amidst the mass of people loitering around there, either; luck was on their side for this endeavor, much to IF's relief.

The young woman turned to her friends and straightened up, grinning cheerfully. "Now then, I hope you are all ready because we're going to a concert!"

RED and Neptune cheered loudly, and some of the people around them actually joined in. Some waved 5pb.-flags and a wave of cheers quickly rolled over the whole square. IF fidgeted a little over the impact she had made unintentionally, but her friends just laughed about and moved on.

The building ahead of them was not as towering as normal planeptunian skyscrapers, but it stood many times as wide as any of them. Oval in form, it hosted sports events of all kinds and many other events throughout every year; polished metal made up most of the stadium's exterior, gleaming in the floodlights. Some blues and purples were mixed in, though they could not see those at night.

What they could see were the lights in the same colour, dozens of them lighting up the top of the structure; a giant 5pb.-banner hung above the front entrance, illuminated by stagelights that blazed as bright as the departed sun.

IF knew this place could hold four hundred thousand people. The tickets for the concert had been sold out in six hours anyway.

It took them a few minutes to get inside, but the lines thankfully moved quite fast. The concert would start in about an hour, giving them enough time to find their seats; while they were doing that however, IF took note of the three screens held up far above the central field by a metal structure. The stadium had no actual roof, but the lights inside made it basically impossible to see the stars above.

These screens depicted the flags of all four nations. Planeptune's cogwheel, Lastation's hammer and anvil, Lowee's bear, and the leanboxian flower.

Compa's question interrupted IF's observations: "How did you get those tickets, Isa?" Her friend apparently found the correct row, into which the six of them now filed one after the other.

IF shrugged and made for a non-answer, but RED chimed in with a snicker: "Hehe, just need to know the right person to ask." Then the older woman sashayed away, leaving her colleague with a bright-eyed Compa. IF did not need to see her face to know she was grinning.

"I know what you are thinking," she told her friend. "And you are right. So let's not talk about it, I didn't have much time to talk to her anyway." Which, coincidentally, meant she did not have to somehow find a way not to mention how 5pb. was off-stage.

They found their seats not much later, merely a few tiers above the lowest level. Their view of the screens above and the center stage below was almost perfect and the women all sunk into the cushioned seats to wait for the concert; they were early, but IF preferred that over being late.

Compa sat down to her right, growing more giddy with every passing minute; Hubert sat to his girlfriend's other side and held her hand, which did not seem to have much effect at all. Then again, he was about as excited as her.

On IF's other side was Neptune, who avidly discussed the supremacy of purple hair with RED while Nepgear tapped around on her N-Gear again.

By herself, IF wondered about 5pb. and what to make of her. She was not good with shy people, or most people in general; yet things had not gone horribly thanks to RED.

She felt somewhat sad about the fact she had been put on break; heading into the field with the Leanboxian would have been an experience for her, and she would have left Nicos by the time IF was to get back to work.

It was a missed opportunity without doubt, but she felt they would meet again either way; Makers often went elsewhere to help out and worked together with colleagues from other nations.

Shaking off the thought, IF pulled a folded weapons magazine out of her pocket; it was not too interesting, but she had little else to do, and the other thing that had struck her fancy was not something she would bring out anywhere near her friends.

Life could be weird, she felt; for her to have gotten interested in gardening of all things. Something about raising plants interested her; she could not say why for sure, but IF wanted to give it a try. As usual, this meant doing research first. Research she would do far away from prying eyes.

Some time passed as she attempted to focus on her magazine and failed because her mind went back to other plans. Compa and Hubert were whispering with each other, so they mostly left her be; Neptune was another matter, though. The purplette quickly included IF in her chat with RED.

Their conversation did not hold for long, either.

Soon enough, floodlights flickered to life and cast bright light onto the empty stage from all directions. Noise around the stadium died down in an instant, everyone waiting for the idol. The silence that a crowd as large as this one could hold was almost uncanny.

Yet nothing happened. 5pb. did not appear out of nowhere within moments as she had done in the past.

IF knew that grand entrances were a part of the show, though she rarely repeated the same entrance; which meant that this had to be something new. Looking around, she found other people doing the same and wondered where her fellow Maker may be. Then she frowned and looked up, finding the woman of the hour; 5pb. stood atop the structure holding the screens, far up high and barely visible in front of the dark sky.

Other people called out and fingers were pointed, the whole stadium soon becoming aware of her position; the idol remained in place for a long minute, waiting until everyone saw her. Only then did she raise a hand, letting a rain of multicoloured sparks shoot into the sky from her palm. The crowd cheered loudly, even Compa joined in.

In this moment, IF felt happy about the fact she forgot to take out her ear protection. The noise level was deafening.

She herself did not cheer, more curious about where this would go; she could guess what the blunette was planning, or at least narrow it down. Which led to neither her, nor RED, nor the CPUs being surprised when 5pb. leapt off her position and plummeted toward the ground, a few final sparks following her descent.

There were some alarmed shouts in the sudden silence, but IF felt no worry. She could make that kind of fall at this point and the woman up above held seniority in regard to being a Maker.

Just as expected, 5pb. slowed her fall before even reaching halfway down and by the time her feet touched the ground, her magic had made the descent about as fast as if she had taken the stairs at a leisurely pace. It was much more elegant than IF's method, who shrouded herself in her Awakening to absorb the fall; she also left craters whenever she did that, so it would have been unusable in an inhabited area.

Once again, cheering broke out and 5pb. waved at the stadium as a whole. "Good evening, Nicos!" Her voice covered the entire room, carried by wind magic. "Are you ready?!" The moment she asked, the screens up above sprung to life and displayed her as well.

The roar that answered appeared to delight the blunette; IF could see her smile, much more freely than what she saw in private before.

When the audience began to quiet down, 5pb. took the guitar off her back; it was a sleek instrument, held in a dark blue much like the woman's hair. She played a few gentle tones that rolled over the entire stadium, held in a perfect volume by her prodigious use of wind magic; IF _knew_ that was what happened, but she could not feel anything of it. No waste, nothing.

It was as if the idol played for every single listener personally.

Once everyone had fallen quiet under the music, 5pb. began to play in earnest.

**. .**

**. .**

IF was in a trance even after the concert ended; she always liked the music, but no record could compare to a live performance. Not only were 5pb.'s pieces delivered marvelously, they also sounded wonderful and horrifying and calm and lovely, all depending on the mood she was going for with a song.

IF could tell that 5pb. put as much work into her craft as she had put into hers. The idol's music had reminded her of the countless hours of practice and preparation; it was invigorating.

No one spoke as they left; some people quietly talked about the concert, but most others also kept their silence. Compa was leaning against Hubert, both of them serene, while Neptune and Nepgear wore faint smiles as they wandered after everyone.

The lull faded slowly, leaving all of them with many feelings and few words that needed to be spoken. IF sighed and decided that this was an evening well spent. She would have liked to compliment 5pb. personally, but the woman would probably prefer some solitude for the time being.

This thought produced an idea; IF nudged RED's side with her elbow. "You have her number, right?" The other woman stared at her blankly for a few seconds until she understood who was meant. When she nodded, IF continued: "Do you mind passing it to me?"

RED actually mulled that over for a full minute; they slowly made their way out of the stadium in that time, the crowd dispersing toward the different means of transportation. In the end, the redhead sighed and motioned for IF to hand over her cellphone. "Okay. You're reasonable and I trust you with this. Even among coworkers, she doesn't really like people spreading her contact information."

The younger woman nodded quietly and held out the device. "Yeah, I get that. Don't worry." RED nodded and quickly thumped in 5pb.'s phone number, then handed it back. "Thanks."

"It's no problem... Isa." Her name was spoken with a mischievous note, though IF simply ignored it.

**. .**

**. .**

That night, after bidding everyone farewell and returning home, she was brooding over what to say. Messages like this were quite impersonal, but IF decided that this would be easier on 5pb.; not to mention that she could actually get her thoughts in order first.

The music still repeated itself in her mind even after she changed into her pyjamas and wrapped herself in a blanket. Her tea was half empty, the heater making her living room quite cozy despite the cold outside.

She decided to start off with an apology about having gotten the number from RED instead of 5pb. herself. That felt at least like a start and was decidedly easier than what followed.

IF wrote and deleted parts of the message, slowly making her way through it and managing to convey the many feelings the concert had given her; it had been a thing of beauty, the likes of which only two of her experiences in life surpassed. The thought of it had memories of silver light return; nothing she would ever see would manage to surpass the sight of a CPU's apotheosis.

She put this feeling into words as well, somehow, and ended with an apology about bothering her so late at night.

Then she pressed send and leaned back against the couch.

IF was happy with herself and downed the remainder of her lukewarm tea, then considered sleep. She had more free time these days, which meant that she could afford staying up a little later; with all the excitement, she did not feel particularly tired, either.

Once her decision was made and she rearranged her blanket however, the young woman's thoughts went to the night; she could afford to stay up another hour or two.

With that decided, she turned on the TV and watched the news for a while; they had a somewhat extended report about old Tari, the predecessor of Gamindustri's current nations. From what she gathered, new ruins had been found in the mountain range and the first teams set out to look into them already.

Going by the footage, it was only a small part of a destroyed city; enough to be covered on a casual sweep within a few days, though apparently protected from the snowfalls. Yet people appeared in high spirits about the find, as it had been decades since the last piece of tarian remains had been found.

She was wholly unprepared for her phone to chime right into the report, alerting her to a new message. IF flinched and quickly made for the device she had put on her table; the ID read 5pb., much to her surprise.

Attention fading from the TV, the young Maker's eyes took in her colleague's response quickly; about being happy to have made her night, apologeptic for being unable to talk to her properly both in person and on the phone, though the latter was because she had to rest her voice after a concert. Apparently, 5pb. had a much easier time talking to people when they were not looking at her.

It was the last part that stumped IF a little; the Leanboxian asked whether she would like to meet up the next day and go out into town.

As she still pondered the request, another message came in; also from 5pb., and apologising for being so sudden. It also offered the explanation that she heard from Tekken how IF was easy to be around, and that the idol did want to broaden her circle of friends.

It made IF smile and quickly compose a message of her own, agreeing to have an outing and for whether 5pb. had any preferences on where to go. Also a warning that she was not a person for outings because she was boring.

Elsewhere in the city, an exhausted idol could not help but smile over reading her text.

They kept up their conversation for a while, and both went to bed decidedly more happy for the time they spent on their phones.


	52. Heroes are Just People 3

_Hm? Oh, the hat is mandatory for Planeptower's IT-security. I know it looks weird on top of my exo-suit, but my Lady insists. And yes, it is a joke of sorts. Benevolent hackers are often called whitehats._

\- ? 'Anonydeath' ?

* * *

Snow crunched under her boots, yet she was not particularly heavily clothed; IF put some of her and Neptune's time to practicing the trick MAGES. taught her, which meant that she could keep herself somewhat warm.

In hindsight, she really should have known it would end up like this. With their respective fame, just wandering the streets would have created both a commotion and so many rumours neither of them was willing to do it.

Virtua Forest expanded in front of her, the guard post currently only manned by two people; they always reduced the Guild presence over the holidays. Those two thankfully preferred their warmth to paying attention to her beyond curious looks. IF continued to walk back and forth as she waited, having been a little early as usual.

Going for a stroll here was not so bad once in a while, the young woman found. She also wondered when she started to be bothered by what other people thought, and decided it was less that and more her being considerate for 5pb.. The idol had admitted to being troubled by people in their late-night chat, which made it clear they should not go somewhere public.

Soon enough, she had created a path of solid snow that no longer crunched under her steps; IF did not particularly care, she just paced to pass the time. She still felt a little restless even after her morning workout.

A glance at her phone told her that 5pb. was late, and that she had no new messages. So she returned to her pacing, coat fluttering in the light breeze.

IF had to wait another five minutes until the sound of crunching snow alerted her to someone approaching; turning around however, she did not see anyone and paused. Then she looked down to find footprints in the white blanket, another one forming with a flicker as the person moved. She snorted about the practice and turned to wander off. "Isn't that a little much?"

"Sorry..." The voice had no apparent source, though IF could tell it spoke from next to her. "I'm just... it helps when I know nobody can see me." She could hear a certain sheepishness without having to see anything, though IF was mainly glad the blunette did not stutter.

She kept quiet for a while until they were well out of sight of the entrance to the city, then reached over and tapped 5pb.'s shoulder; the disturbance it produced in her invisibility was short, a sudden ripple in a rainbow of colours. It was followed by a surprised sound and the whole thing dropping away, revealing her fellow Maker in a white sundress. In winter.

The sight of it gave IF pause for a moment, but it also provided her something to play over the moment. "Are you sure you're dressed for the right season?"

"Um... w-well, I, uh..." And thus the stutter returned, though not as powerful as two weeks earlier. 5pb. self-conciously rubbed her arms and averted her gaze. "I d-didn't bring a-anything for w-winter, just c-clothes I l-like..."

IF sighed at that, well aware that her colleague knew the trick for warming up as well. It made sense that she would not bring any winter clothes. And, in fairness to her colleague, IF was not dressed for the time of year, either. "Yeah, I get that. We already know how to keep the cold away, so there's no need to take clothes for that along."

5pb. nodded shily and glanced her way, meeting IF's eyes for a moment but averting her gaze right afterward. The brunette paid it no mind and shrugged. "I'm mostly just thinking you're going to give someone a scare if they see you out here and dressed in white like that. You look a bit like a ghost with how pale you are."

Much to her surprise, her companion actually snickered about that. "Hehe, I see; I have to k-keep that in mind." She fell silent afterward and IF realised that for now, it was probably up to her to keep the conversation going.

At least she had enough things to talk about, starting with that particular trick she saw before. "Actually, how are you making yourself invisible like that?"

The idol lowered her head a little, hands playing with her dress as they walked. "I, um, m-my sister made the t-theory and taught me how to do it a few years ago." Her voice became more steady as she spoke, motioning with both hands. "It's basically just light magic, but much more low-key than normal. The actual thing is difficult to pull off, but it works by blocking and copying incoming light and then producing the exact same frequency on the other side. I spent a lot of time learning it."

IF huffed at that, amused by the fact there was another interesting trick she would never be capable of. Though she did see a few holes in it. "What if someone bumps into you on the street?"

The blunette's lips curled into a weak smile as she shook her head. "I usually fly in the city. Flight is far less difficult, and I can keep that up almost indefinitely without expending much power. You are a mage yourself, right?"

IF nodded, but spoke up before the other woman could continue: "Stopping you there, I still suck at magic. Not a chance I can pull it off, or Nep would have taught me already." Because really, flight was one of the most useful tricks she could imagine.

5pb.'s smile fell and she averted her gaze. "Sorry, it's just... flight is basically wrapping your body in a shroud of pure magic and then moving it around. Not for beginners, but a lot of mages can use it. Most people just aren't able to do it without replacing the shroud from time to time, which is where most of the power is lost."

IF nodded understandingly; it made sense to her and she did like to listen to someone better than herself about such things. "I see. So you fly through town while invisible and keeping yourself warm?"

"Well, uh, yes." The blunette did not look at her, bashfully ducking her head. "Caroline just includes the warmth into the flight to cut down on complexity, but I'm not good enough for that." Her response made IF raise an eyebrow, but she swallowed the first comment she had before it got out.

"Caroline being MAGES., then?" 5pb. nodded shily, startled a moment later when IF clapped her shoulder. "No need to feel bad, I know I suck and don't mind. Just assume I won't understand if you start to go into arcane theory."

"O-Okay..." The conversation trailed off from there, much to the brunette's disappointment. She just got her colleague to talk about something she cared about, but then things went back to how they were before.

They wandered through Virtua for a while, meeting basically no one on the way; a few Guild agents passed them, but the cold made few of them care for the celebrities out for a stroll.

A little later, a pair of Wolves crossed their path and IF produced her pistol without a second thought. Then she looked down at the weapon and to 5pb. "Say, do you have your ear protectors in?" The blunette blinked, turning her gaze from the monsters to her and shook her head; she was clearly mortified, so IF simply waved it off. "Don't worry, just being careful here. Oh well."

They stepped away from each other and the wolves simply flew past them; then a hail of icycles from IF and a single shard from 5pb. speared through the creatures, killing them immediately.

The Makers returned to where they stood before and kept going. 5pb. appeared more thoughtful and kept stealing glances at IF, who grinned at her. "I told you I suck. That was the best I could do... though ice isn't really my specialty, anyway."

"Is that so?" The idol eyed her curiously now. "W-What's your Af-f-finity?" She frowned at her own stutter this time, but IF took her attention away with her response.

"Fire, light, and healing. I didn't even try ice before Nep gave me supplementary lessons, and lightning is still a big no for me. Wind is so-so, but I can't get it down to do less than make a mess." The brunette focussed for a moment and pointed her hand at an errant Dogoo; the resulting gust of air, tamed as it was, still carried most of the snow along and buried the slime in it. "That's basically the weakest I can do." Not to mention that IF still had trouble to channel magic through anything but her hands, where proper mages could do it with basically any part of their body.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to 5pb.. "What's yours?"

The blunette averted her gaze again and pointed a finger toward another Dogoo; lightning lanced out from it and killed the creature mid-jump. "Lightning and wind. I use both in my performances, so I get a lot of practice with them either way." The lightning jumped from one Dogoo to another that hid nearby, then to another, and a fourth before using itself up. "I can't even imagine not having the control I have. Isn't it hard?"

"Not really." IF shrugged at her companion as she explained. "I spent a lot of time honing my body and skill; those are what I use for work. The magic is just a nice help to clean out small stuff."

5pb. made an understanding noise and fell quiet for a while; they continued destroying the few Dogoos they came by, but most monsters either avoided them or were already killed by the agents.

Fresh snow crunched under their boots as they walked, a white blanket covering the ground and bushes and trees alike; almost all were devoid of leaves, though a few pine trees stood out. Some loweean flowers had become native to Virtua as well, blooming yellow and red even in the bitter cold.

They both marveled at the sight as they went, mostly aimless on their way through the forest. IF had a vague idea of their direction and Planeptower still rose in the distance; they would find their way home when they felt it was time.

As she considered what else they could talk about, IF began to turn her attention to the area around them. Then she noticed familiar groups of trees, though she could not tell whether those were the same she once walked by.

She spent two years patrolling this forest, yet did not know even half of it as well as she would have liked.

"I-It's a nice thing to see." 5pb. broke the silence with these words, calling IF back from her ruminations. When the younger woman looked at her companion, she fidgeted a little, but pressed on after a moment: "I-I m-m-mean, it's... it's pretty. A-and d-different." She kept on fidgeting, unable to continue for the moment.

IF began to sweep her gaze over the frozen landscape, at least as far as she could see, and saw what the blunette meant. Everything sparkled in this piece of nature, visually untouched by human hands.

"We g-get out a l-lot more than most people, being M-Makers," 5pb. went on a little later. "A-And everything looks so... so wild. It's nothing like the p-parks in the cities, I think. Everything there is, uh, tamed, yes. Nature is f-free out here." She mulled over her own words for a moment before giving IF a shy look. "Does that make sense?"

The younger woman nodded thoughtfully. She had a similar feeling, though what produced it was hardly possible to be put into words. Nature lacked system in a way humans could understand easily, unless it was trimmed by human hands.

"Yeah, I get it. And with Virtua being the only spot outside people can actually go to without risking their lives..." She did not finish the sentence, unsure what to say there.

IF had never really thought about the matter before; now the constant influx of tourists made a lot more sense. She understood why the Guild went to such trouble to keep the forest safe, too. It was so everyone could see what nature actually was, lest they become truly lost in city life.

They continued wandering and soon reached a frozen lake, one which IF recalled fairly well. Her team had lazed around the place during the particularly hot days of summer; even with the errant mosquitoes bothering them, everyone had preferred being near the water.

They still had to do their patrol, but Gabriel made sure to lay their route so they came by the lake every hour or so. One day, they even dared to bring swimsuits and went inside during their lunch break. Other squads had done similarly.

The memory brought a smile to IF's face, one she did not even notice for a while as she stared out onto the ice.

5pb., unwilling to interrupt her reminiscence, stepped closer and tested her foot on the surface; it held easily. They had subzero temperatures for weeks, which made that not too much of a surprise. Being a leanboxian however, the blunette still refrained from going any further than that.

Until IF gave her a soft push, that was. The idol followed the nudge with a barely audible squeak and stepped onto the ice, her colleague following a moment later. IF grinned at her. "We don't really get the chance to do this in the city at all. Come on, let's give it a try!"

"W-What if we break in?" Even though she voiced her concerns, 5pb. did not leave IF's side as they made their way over the glistening surface. A light dusting of snow covered most of it, but the afternoon sun made it all shine nonetheless.

The younger woman shrugged and looked around. "I'm pretty sure we won't. I did that the last few years with my team and it never happened, though they said to wait until it had enough time to freeze over properly." IF mulled that over for a moment and threw a glance toward 5pb., who kept eyeing their surroundings cautiously. "I guess you can't really do that in Leanbox?"

She received a shake of the head in response. "Not really. I-It's too warm, any ice that forms in winter can't hold a person's weight." Though she was still careful, the blunette appeared to grow a little less scared of breaking in when the ice kept holding. She still flinched every time the ground creaked under their feet, but IF would not complain about that.

Being paranoid was no good, but being careful never hurt. She also made sure to try keeping them close enough to the shore in case something did happen. "And if it breaks, you can fly yourself out just fine. I'll manage, too."

"That's true." 5pb. nodded thoughtfully and began to look around again. "It's things like these that I like Lowee for. It is too dark and cold to stay for longer than a few weeks, but it's so pretty."

IF made an agreeing noise; thinking of Lowee however, she was reminded of MAGES.. Who was apparently 5pb.'s sister and worked almost on the other side of the planet. There was a story there, but she did not know whether it would be okay to ask. So IF put the notion aside for the moment; she could ask that some other time.

They followed the lake's shore for a while and finally left its icy surface several minutes later, much to 5pb.'s relief. IF abstained from commenting on it and pointed her companion to a rarely used path through a thicker part of the forest.

They found another Wolf charging at them, but IF simply stabbed its throat as it soared past her. They went back to walking immediately after, barely interrupted by the monster. "I'm a little curious, how long does it take you to write your songs and practice them?"

The blunette thought about it for a moment, thinking back and counting on her fingers. "That... depends, really." She ultimately shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face. "Between a week and two months for setting up the track and the lyrics, depending on how inspired I am. About... another month to practice the song? I usually practice several at once, so it overlaps a little."

Her stutter was gone entirely by now, which IF took as a success. The insight in an idol's life made for a nice addition.

Then however, right as they passed around a few leaveless bushes, they came upon two other people. Not just anyone even, but Compa and Nepgear.

Both of them stood with their backs to IF and 5pb., but she could see her companion freezing up; once they were done eyeing the handful of flowers in that direction, they would likely see them.

IF's eyes narrowed slightly and she nudged the blunette with her elbow. "Quick, turn invisible and stay nearby." Her voice was barely a whisper, though she suspected that Nepgear heard her anyway; if she did, the CPU did not react to it.

Moments passed and then 5pb. was gone from sight. IF nodded slowly and whistled.

Much as expected, Nepgear turned around and Compa jumped up from where she had been crouching; both brightened upon seeing her and waved while she wandered over. Greetings were exchanged and IF eyed the other two curiously. "What brought you out here?"

Nepgear shrugged, though Compa beamed at her with cheer. "Nep-Nep said the forest looks great today, so we went to look around."

IF nodded understandingly, though she knew this was not the whole truth. Compa probably had no idea, though Nepgear obviously knew as well. The purplette just quietly smiled and IF tried not to roll her eyes. "Yeah, it is pretty today. I was taking a walk myself; it's nice."

"Oh, how about we go together? The more, the merrier!" Compa immediately brightened up at her own idea, though her expression turned back to normal when IF shook her head.

"Sorry, I'd rather be by myself today. And I'm probably not going to get back anytime soon." Only half of that was a lie; her and 5pb. would likely stay out for the better part of the day. Compa nodded understandingly.

A few Dogoos broke out of the bushes, curiously hopping toward them; IF did not even bother acting while Nepgear killed most with a flaming spear that kept circling back. The two she did not target were those that Compa bludgeoned to death with a group of four magic spheres.

IF took a look at the app on her phone; she still wore her Guild-tracker out of habit, which meant that she received the reward for every Dogoo slain. "Hm." She quickly made for her wallet and flicked a coin at her friend. "Two for you." Compa smiled and pocketed the money, long since used to the practice.

Nepgear, meanwhile, would have refused it no matter how hard she tried to press the issue; she would just donate anything the purplette earned as usual. She felt she should wrap this up, though.

"Well, don't let me hold you up. See you around." Both Nepgear and Compa said their goodbyes and all of them walked off.

IF kept quiet for about a minute, wandering away from where her friends might still see. Then she sighed and stopped. "We should be in the clear now." And just like that, 5pb. appeared basically next to her. The blunette hung half a metre in the air, poised as if sitting, but returned to the ground once she returned to visibility.

The idol appeared curious. "Who was that with Lady Nepgear?" And IF saw no reason not to indulge her

"Compa is our friend; she studies to become a nurse and... really, she's a normal city girl." IF grimaced for a moment, feeling as if she just leveled an insult on her friend. "She knows Nepgear is a CPU and stuff, but we try not to involve her too much." That would be both cruel and reckless; Compa was not made to fight like the Makers or CPUs.

5pb. nodded and mulled that over; when IF continued however, she froze mid-step for a moment: "She's also a fan. Not the screaming groupie kind, but I figured you really wouldn't want to deal with that today." The brunette paused for a moment and considered her words, then eyed her companion. "Actually, are there screaming groupies like that? I never saw anyone like that outside of movies."

"Um..." there was a significant pause and they both stopped walking, looking at each other. 5pb. mulled over what to say while IF stood and waited for her; the blunette became increasingly flustered before finally ducking her head. "Y-Y-Yes. I-I w-was t-thinking w-what to s-say, b-b-but everything s-sounded s-so m-m-mean..."

She trailed off and IF sighed. Her colleague had regressed into stutters.

After a moment, the younger woman looked around for a place to sit. They had been going for an hour already and she figured now was as good a time as any for lunch. A few large rocks sat in a small hole nearby, high enough to be visible even through the snow. She pointed at them. "How about we rest up for a bit and eat something?"

It was an abrupt change of the subject, but her companion did not seem to mind. She nodded gratefully and moved over to examine the rocks, then turned to IF thoughtfully. "Those are too cold to sit on. Do you want me to warm them?"

The brunette just waved her aside with a grin. "I offered, so it's my treat." She then cast out a hand and had a gout of flame run over the rock; snow and ice melted in seconds, the resulting water soon turning into vapor as the fire continued to blaze over her chosen seat.

She did this for ten seconds before stopping and checking it with her hand; the rock steamed, but was still cool to the touch, so IF bathed it in flame a little longer. Then she produced a small picnic blanket, which she spread over the rock before hopping onto it. 5pb. climbed up right after her, eyes still on the steam wafting around them.

IF noticed that and leaned back while getting out the lunchboxes she made. "You can say it, you know? I know I'm no good at it."

The blunette's gaze wandered to her and then back to the rock, back to IF and then to the ground. "Y-You... you d-did it a l-lot f-faster t-than I c-c-could have," she offered diplomatically, though it only made the younger woman snort. 'But for ten times the power', she did not say even though both knew it was implied.

IF simply shrugged and held a box out to 5pb. "Here you go. No idea what kind of food you like, so I made two identical ones." After a year of living alone and with the life she had, IF had become quite good at making her own meals. She needed the nutrition.

Though, granted, about half of it was synthesized.

Her companion did not seem to care, she just blinked down at the food; noodles and several different vegetables, together with a generous helping of meat. The blunette smiled and took the fork held out to her. "T-Thank you." Before she dug in however, she quietly added something else: "And thank you for keeping your friend unaware."

IF heard her and merely shrugged it off; it was the right thing to do. "Don't mention it. Sticking it to Nep is important sometimes, too." When the chewing blunette looked up at her curiously, she motioned behind herself with her fork, toward where they came by the other two. "At this point, I learned that any chance meeting is not by chance if she is even remotely involved. Seeing those two in the forest on the same day we decide to go there? Pretty sure that was her trying to get you out of your shell. Or to give Compa a chance to meet you, or some other reason."

She shrugged. "Either way, I disagree and won't play her game today." And with that finish, IF began to eat as well. 5pb. smiled.

All in all, the both of them thought, it was shaping up to be a nice and quiet day.


	53. Heroes are Just People 4

_When life throws you down, you get back up and punch it in the face._

-Loweean 'proverb'

* * *

The new year had arrived with the usual festivities; IF spent the night at Planeptower just like the previous year, though only after attending a party with Compa and Hubert for a while. Staying with the CPUs was nice, seeing that she did not feel she should, or could, hide anything from them.

A few more days passed since the arrival of 514 and the year deigned not to throw any curveballs at her this time; she had her heart-to-heart with Neptune just a year ago, and had since not only gotten used to living on her own, but also risen to the rank of Maker.

5pb. had since moved on, though IF had taken a liking to the idol and they stayed in contact after that one day they spent together. The blunette was much more expressive via text or on the phone.

As of this moment, IF rode the elevator up to her deities' chambers. She had not heard from Nepgear ever since the new year began, which was decidedly odd; the purplette usually either posted on Chirper or threw a few texts her way even when busy. In fact, Nepgear did not check her phone at all; IF had tried to message and call her.

"Hey, Iffy!" The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she was already greeted cheerfully. Neptune lounged on the couch and waved, a cup of pudding in hand and otherwise looking perfectly at ease.

IF raised her hand in greeting and eyed her employer thoughtfully. "Is there any time in the day where I find you working?" Because, considering all her other visits over the last years, the purplette never appeared to be busy.

"Nope," Neptune chirped without missing a beat and snorted over the face IF made. "I only work nights so I get exactly that reaction. Yes, it's still funny, even after I've been doing this for about two hundred years." Then she broke into giggles while IF slumped her shoulders and flopped onto the couch's free end.

The human woman sighed and rubbed her temples, then stole Neptune's second pudding and began to eat it while her goddess was busy laughing. If she noticed, she did not reprimand IF.

"So," the brunette opened once two empty cups stood on the ground in front of the couch. "I haven't heard from Nepgear for a while; is she busy?" Neptune shrugged in response, though she did not even attempt to hide the weak grin the question brought onto her face.

"Kind of, something big is going down soon. Come on, I'll show you." With that, the purplette hopped up and held a hand out for IF, then pulled her along and toward the sisters' bedroom. Throwing IF a smile, she knocked once and entered, revealing her Candidate hunched over a small desk at the wall.

"Hey, sis. Did something happen?" Nepgear did not even turn around to look at them; she continuously tapped a pen against the desk, obviously in thought. Neptune grinned at IF as if this told her everything, then strode into the room. The human woman followed immediately.

"Nah, just checking how you're doing." The older purplette did not elaborate, and the younger one did not question it.

However, hearing two sets of footsteps made Nepgear perk up and turn around after all; her eyes widened when she saw IF behind her, the time spent in reclusion catching up with the Candidate. "Goodness, I completely forgot to talk to you! I'm so sorry!"

IF waved her off with a huff, all concern now gone. "It's fine. Though I _would_ be pretty happy if someone could explain what's going on to me, and my glorious ruler is being coy about it." It was both a question and a proposal, accompanied by a look toward Neptune; the older CPU merely giggled and kept her silence.

Much to IF's confusion, Nepgear began to fidget somewhat and averted her gaze. "Um, that is a bit difficult. Give me a moment to order my thoughts." Then she turned back to her paper, crossed out a few lines of whatever she wrote, and took a deep breath. With that done, the young CPU rose to her feet and let herself drop onto the thick carpet with a dull thud. "I only now realise I haven't slept in six days. That's a little much even for me."

"Aw, don't be such a whimp," Neptune cheerfully teased her sister while nudging her with a foot. "I can do seven days no problem."

"Because you're the CPU proper!" Nepgear whined and rolled away from their beds, where her sibling had sat down. She grumbled a little while IF shook her head at their antics; it was still a little jarring to her as a human, no matter how often she was reminded of the matter.

After a few moments, her friend sighed and spread out her limbs on the ground. "Anyway, it's... Uni is coming over soon."

"Oh, so those are pickup lines?" She interrupted right between two sentences, causing Neptune to fall over laughing; Nepgear flushed, but did not show any other signs of being affected by the teasing.

In fact, the purplette cast a long look up at her before raising an eyebrow. "Remind me who took a long, _romantic_ walk with 5pb. just recently?" She got her there, in a way, and IF found herself matching her friend's colouration. Neptune laughed harder in the background.

"I'll fight you on the romantic part, but you're right with the rest. So, _are_ those pickup lines?" Now IF was actually curious, but felt it would be rude to just walk over and read whatever Nepgear wrote.

The younger CPU shook her head, though. "No, not really. I wouldn't need to think about something like that for five days straight." She cast a glance up to where her notes were and sighed. "Those are insults."

And just like that, she lost IF. The brunette blinked and, after considering her options, decided to sit down with her back against the wall. "Okay. I think I need a better explanation."

Her friend nodded understandingly and motioned for the small stack of papers on her desk. "It's, well, um... sis? Did we ever actually tell her about this?"

"Nope!" Neptune grinned from her spot, completely unrepentant and obviously unwilling to help her sister out of whatever explanation this was supposed to be. IF waited patiently, knowing that for all their banter, they would get around to explaining eventually.

Just as expected, Nepgear got back to it right away: "Ugh, goodness. We've been friends for three years and I completely forgot. I'm sorry about that," she added with a glance to IF, who waved it off. "It's just such a fundamental thing that I completely forgot humans don't really do this. You see, duels are a common occurence between us CPUs."

She gave IF a moment to ask questions, but the brunette decided to wait for the full explanation for now. Understanding this, Nepgear continued: "With Uni and me, it was only mock battles and spars until recently; it wouldn't have been fair while I had my HDD and she didn't, and after that we never really had the time."

"Why does it have to be you and Uni?" IF wondered if there was any significance in it being the Candidates who had to fight each other, putting the rest aside for now.

Nepgear eyed her as she answered, expression unreadable: "Because holding back on a fully matured CPU is an insult. The only one I actually forgive that is sis, for obvious reasons. I wouldn't forgive anyone else if they held back on me, not any of the other rulers, not Uni, not even you." Her voice held a certain edge that IF picked up on. She straightened her back and nodded, committing the information to memory; if she ever sparred with Nepgear, she would have to remember that.

"That said, because it is an insult, I will not hold back against any other CPU. And none of them will hold back against me, either. Uni is the only one who is roughly my equal, I might even die if I picked a fight with any of the others."

"Okay, stop," IF interjected; her eyes narrowed at both CPUs. "That's ridiculous."

Now Neptune chimed in, voice calm. "It is. And we aren't going to change it." When the human woman stared at her, she offered her a stern look. "This isn't a matter of convenience, it's a matter of pride. Our martial strength is what we need to protect our people; to hold back is to belittle our power, and by extension our capability as rulers." She huffed and nodded toward her sister then. "Believe it or not, all of us are proud to a fault."

This, however, _was_ hard to believe. Nepgear was the least prideful person IF had ever met, even beating Compa on the matter. She worked hard and always had a smile for everyone, not a hint of haughtiness or anything else.

Except that her gaze was also stern in these moments, letting IF know that her impression had apparently been wrong. She did not realise what her mistake had been, to look for behaviour that matched pride in a human without considering she was dealing with gods.

For IF, it simply meant to change her worldview. So she did.

"Okay, fine. So this is a big thing because it's your first actual duel as adults?" Nepgear made a confirming noise, so IF continued: "Then what about the insults? What do you need those for?"

"First part of every proper duel is words," her friend replied tiredly; her eyes were shut and she apparently had trouble staying awake. "Even if the battle of strength and skill is lost, one can still have won the battle of wits. There are many ways to compete aside from straight-up fighting."

And suddenly, it all made sense. IF completely forgot how competetive CPUs could be, but the reminder made her understand what she missed. Not to mention that the idea intrigued her; bantering before battle was not something she ever considered, seeing that she did not spar on principle.

Sparring held too much risk to someone too insecure about her ability to hold back; she had practiced lethal takedowns all her life, which translated into an increased risk against anyone good enough to actually make a spar worthwhile. The moment muscle memory took over, she feared she would go for the kill and succeed.

"So to recap," she stated in an attempt to get everything clear. "You and Uni are having a duel." A nod from Nepgear. "If one of you is too weak, she gets hurt a lot?" Another nod. "And before you start cutting each other up, you have a round of insults?" A third nod. IF's gaze then went to Neptune. "I get that it works for you two, but how do Uni and Noire keep doing this with their... with how they are."

At first she wanted to say 'pride', but quickly corrected herself after the revelation that all CPUs were proud.

Neptune, in turn, grinned at her. "Because it's fun to punch your friends in the face, provided they can take it." She raised one hand and ticked off another point on each finger. "Not to mention that it is good to compare ourselves with each other, works as stress relief, is an excuse to visit someone, and forces everyone to stay sharp lest they get humiliated by their peers.

"But to answer your actual question," the old CPU continued cheerfully, "everything we say while bantering is forgiven afterward. We all know the lines we must not cross with each other, the rest is easy."

IF listened and found reason but also insanity in the given explanation. It made sense, but would also utterly fail with most humans; even she knew that much. Moments passed as she mulled over what her friend said, then the young woman sighed.

She had no words aside from something noncommittal, so IF was quite glad that Neptune kept going at that point: "Anyway, she would deny it if she could hear, but Nepgear is too nice to really insult someone. That is what she has trouble with; no experience for how hard she can go without crossing a line."

IF was about to remark that Nepgear could hear them, but then she noticed the Candidate lying still; she had fallen asleep somewhere during the previous explanation. Neptune crawled down from her bed and lifted her sister, who did not even react to being moved.

"But then again, it's Uni she's up against. I think her insult-game is stronger than Nepgear's, but she will be even less willing to say something hurtful."

IF nodded; she agreed with her friend's assessment on that matter, at least. "Isn't it pretty harsh to have these two fight with all the romantic tension in the air?"

Neptune snorted as she led her out of the room, then grinned slyly. "Well, maybe they end up tongue-fighting instead. Who knows?" Her remark made IF snort in turn, neither of them actually serious about the matter. Neptune giggled. "But really, they will do fine, both of them."

"I don't doubt that." IF sighed, still thinking that it would be rather cruel to do this. She shook that off and decided that Neptune knew what she was doing. "That aside, any chance they hook up this time?"

The only answer she received was a shrug.

**. .**

**. .**

Meanwhile, a certain room in Lastation's main Basilicom was filled with the echoes of steel impacting steel. New sounds of the same kind were produced so fast that they created a cacophony of noise; it went ignored by both women present in the room.

Noire's raven hair remained perfectly in place even through the most acrobatic steps she had to take to dodge her sibling, while Uni's locks were in disarray after the barrage unleashed upon her. Yet the younger sister held her ground, though not without grinding her teeth about being held back on.

The gap between them, they both knew, was insurmountable. Even if Uni had held enough power to truly challenge her older sister, Noire would have brought five centuries of experience to bear to crush her anyway. A Candidate could not surpass their own sibling, and rarely any proper CPU at all.

Uni knew as much, yet her pride did not allow her to do any less than tease out the very limit of her capabilities; all her speed, all her strength, every ounce of skill, she threw it at Noire with every new strike. To no avail. Wherever she moved, her blade was blocked or deflected with barely any motion. Kicks were sidestepped, jabs slapped aside without care.

Minutes passed like this until Uni finally relented and sunk to the ground with a sigh, having her weapon disappear in the same motion. "It's no use, I can't even scratch you."

They both knew this was to be expected, though Noire accepted the compliment with a nod of her head. "You are doing fine for your age. Though you probably want to get a handle on your hair." Her comment made the younger woman blink; Uni turned her gaze as far as she could, beholding some loose strands only barely in her field of vision.

A moment later, the entirety of her hair began to float and move around, turning back into her usual updo without any trouble. "Sorry, I even forgot about that."

Her apology was brushed off and Noire pulled her up from the ground. "It is good to see that you can still be so single-minded as to forget, but be careful. If you lose yourself in the fight, you might either not get back out or end up missing something your opponent does." She spoke from experience, Uni knew; her older sister was a bit of a battle maniac. Whenever she had a peer to fight, Noire became a different person.

Uni never considered being similar in that regard and still did not. "I don't think the first one will be a problem. You know I'm more of a gun girl." And sharpshooting took calm that Noire herself lacked, they both knew but did not say.

"I am aware," Noire finally allowed. Then she relaxed and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "But your swordplay is still excellent. You did well with that."

Her praise coaxed a bright smile out of Uni, who nodded happily. "Thank you! How about we go once more?" Her question was a mere formality, but they both knew that and were already stepping back.

Noire nodded as their weapons materialised, each of them carrying longswords this time. "I take it you are not going back to work?" She took a basic stance, mirrored by her sibling a moment later.

Their dance began slowly, giving them time to talk. Uni tested her sister's defenses with a few careful feints. "Not really, I need a break. Is it noticeable I am barely holding it together at the moment?"

Noire did not react and made a quick stab for Uni, who deflected the blade to one side while stepping to the other side, riposting immediately. "I noticed, but nobody else would. Nepgear?"

The Candidate's stab failed to find a target as Noire stepped aside as well; Uni quickly left her reach and brought up a guarded stance again. "Obviously. I think I'm ready to ask her, but is it really okay politically?"

Noire rolled her eyes and brought up her own guard for a moment, allowing her sister a moment of respite. "Of course it is. You love her, she loves you. Even if you were to get married, you would not tie our nations into one. The only ones who can't be together because of politics are Neptune and I."

Uni sighed sadly at the reminder. They rarely spoke openly about such matters, but this conversation had happened years ago already. When Uni was struggling with her budding feelings, Noire admitted that she fell in love with Neptune ages past. Planeptune's ruler felt much the same, even though she would never so much as mention it without prompt.

"I still don't get why you two can't get married. Miss Blanc and miss Vert would just do the same and equilibrium returns where Shares are involved." She never really brought up the topic before because Noire was obviously uncomfortable around it, but Uni had changed in the last year; she became more curious, even about things that might make her sister uncomfortable.

Noire, meanwhile, shook her head. "I proposed to Neptune ages ago and she refused me. I was somewhat selfish, and she was right in that the change in borders and culture that a merge would bring might be too much for our people. Don't worry about it."

Before Uni could respond to that, the older CPU lowered her stance and grinned at her. "Besides, all the happiness she could give me as my wife is dwarfed by what you gave me." Uni's eyes widened and in the moment of emotion, Noire disarmed her. Steel rested against her neck for a moment before dispersing, her sister's hand softly petting her head. "Had we joined our nations so long ago, both you and Nepgear may never have been born."

Uni mutely accepted the gesture and stepped in to embrace Noire; both of them smiled softly, happy with each other for the moment.

**. .**

**. .**

Three of the five most powerful people currently in Lowee sat in their lounge, a large room stuffed with flush carpets and blankets as per their own request. Broccoli and MarvelousAQL were both quite fond of bundling up and napping through their idle time, a practice which MAGES. did not mind backing; leaving them to that gave her a chance to read or ponder arcane matters.

This day however, all of them were wide awake and in the process of heading out for the day. They had to coordinate a little more and spread further for a while; MAGES. and Broccoli would go out to hunt while Marvy's duty for the day was to greet CyberConnect2 and fill her in.

Marvy sighed and looked at her friends. "Should we give IF a warning?"

Broccoli giggled; the not-child was busy absorbing Gema into herself, a practice that even MAGES. would rather not look at; her skin bulged sickly where the additional matter flowed through it. "It will be fine, don't worry. Everyone loves surprises."

The other woman just huffed and shook her head in exasperation, but did not argue the point.


	54. Heroes Are Just People 5

_Okay, but why? Do you really think I'm good enough to justify inventing a new title? Just name me sword saint and let the other thing become word of mouth or whatever._

-Falcom

* * *

A loud roar thundered over the plains; the Ancient Dragon it originated from barely stood. Its head was half severed, it lost one arm and half of its tail entirely, and even its flaming breath had not managed to deter the enemy.

IF, meanwhile, pulled her katar out of the monster's head and feathered her fall with her Awakening; she flicked backward while her opponent collapsed into particles, coming to stand a moment later. She shook out her arms and legs while making sure there were no monsters left; it became quite clear that none of them could have hidden among the burned and molten area. Her own flames had destroyed any small enemies that were with the dragon and the creature itself had finished obliterating the nearby vegetation.

The young Maker herself was unscathed. She had found that fighting monsters was not as difficult once she learned their weakpoints, which included the neck in most cases. IF figured that with another year of practice, her control would finally advance to allow slicing through even an Ancient Dragon's thick neck with a single strike.

The fact that even a glancing blow from such an opponent would be devastating was merely an additional incentive to dodge quickly and finish the fight as fast as possible. No monster could keep going without its head, for whatever reason that was. Only some heads were more difficult to separate from their bodies, as not all monsters actually _had_ a neck or similar weakpoint to cut through.

With no more enemies nearby, IF allowed herself a yawn. The rising sun finally gave her enough light to call off the drones that accompanied her, carrying floodlights; a clear blue sky already promised a pleasant day, cold as it would still be. She shivered when her shroud of warm air flickered due to her lack of focus. Sweaty from the fighting and walking, the winter air did not do her well in these moments; IF quickly recreated her protection. It became easier due to constant practice, at least.

They called her in at two in the morning due to unusual monster activity. IF had been out clearing the northern plains for six hours, not only of larger monsters but also small fry that got in the way.

With her course of action decided, the young woman turned toward where she thought the nearest train station was. As she made her way over, she drew her phone and speed-dialed RED before realising her mistake; now that she had done it however, she figured she might as well check on her red-haired friend.

Her call was answered within seconds, a familiar and cheerful voice greeting her. "If it's not Iffy, what's up?"

"Nothing much, just taking a walk before breakfast." Technically true. "How are you settling in?"

RED stayed quiet for a moment and IF watched a single hare flee her presence in the interim; it did surprise her that any animals were still in the area after she rampaged through it. Those must have slept through the mayhem, which made sense in winter.

"Pretty good, all in all," her fellow Maker finally told her after a few seconds. "Sorry, Chris needed me for something. Anyway, we get along splendidly. I'm missing the filled skyline, though." IF snorted at that and RED laughed as well. "It's a little difficult to get used to the differences over here, you know?"

The younger woman made an understanding noise as she hopped over a fallen tree. "No walkways, no shiny buildings, no synthesizers, no underground trains, and so on. I know, I was there before."

"Wait, really? But Lady Nep only sent you to Lowee so far." RED's curiousity was audible and IF did not mind indulging her.

"I was seventeen at the time and went to get some proper weapons made. I had Nepgear along and Uni insisted we stay at her place." Which was the gist of it, and ended in Uni's apotheosis; just the faint memory of light made her next step become wobbly, but IF caught herself and kept going. RED failed to notice anything, seeing that she was busy laughing.

"Oh, I can guess what you thought of that," she got out in-between bouts of mirth; IF huffed, but did not deny it. She _had_ been alienated at the time. At this point however, she mostly missed Uni a little; with how little time the lastationite Candidate had, they had not actually seen each other in months. IF had talked to her on the phone once in a while, but that was not really comparable.

"Have you seen Uni yet, actually?"

"Nah, cooped up in her place practicing for something, they wouldn't tell me the details." RED did not seem to mind that at all. IF could guess, though.

A moment later however, the redhead spoke up: "Wait a second." IF stopped and waited for what was to follow. RED had paused to look at the clock and done the math. "It's eight in the morning. You don't eat breakfast before ten, _and_ you don't call people during your morning workout. They called you for work in the middle of the night, didn't they?"

IF sighed, the sound as much of an admission as anything else. "Yeah, at two. Don't worry, I'm fine. Getting breakfast, pushing the rest of the day on Steamax, and doing whatever. I'm also almost at the train station, so I have to hang up soon."

The place had come in sight and was technically still a ways away, but IF felt they said everything they had to. RED apparently had nothing else, either: "Sure thing. Stay safe."

"You too. Tell Chris I said hi."

"Can do!"

She ended the call with that and speed-dialed Steamax next. With RED no longer in the country and K-Sha still not around, he was the only one they had at the moment; aside from IF herself, that was. Lastation had more monsters prowling near the cities at the moment either way, which was why K-Sha had been delayed.

Her call was picked up immediately. "How can I help you, IF?" Steamax' voice did not hold any animosity about having been called this early, though that might be because she still suspected he did not even need to sleep at all.

"Just calling ahead that you're on your own today. I just got done with a six hours long hike through the plains." She blasted a lone Dogoo with a jet of flame, uncaring for the wasted power. "I'm calling it a little early, but I don't feel like doing anymore of this today."

"Certainly," her colleague replied without hesitation. "That is alright with me. I take it you want to rest up and take a bath?"

"That, and breakfast and maybe a nap." IF sighed. "Do you know when K-Sha will be here?" She did not mind the additional work, but Neptune only shrugged whenever she asked her.

Steamax apparently had no idea, either. "I am afraid not. She should make an appearance soon enough, though." He paused for a moment before excusing himself. "But I should get back to focussing on my maintenance now. Have a good day, friend."

"Yeah, you too."

And with that, she pocketed her phone; the train station was still a minute or two away, leaving her enough time to stew in her own thoughts about what to get for breakfast. And whether that nap was actually a good idea, as tempting as it was.

In the end, IF decided against actually sleeping during the day. She would slice off an hour from her usual workday training regimen and spend the time relaxing, though.

Maybe, she considered, she could also get started on actually planting the seeds she bought; all her other gardening supplies were in place, which meant she could give this a shot and see where it went.

It was while on the train back to Nicos that IF realised she should not get started on something like this while tired. It would have to wait until the next day, or the weekend when she had time.

On the other hand, this gave her an unspecified amount of time to do whatever. Though she knew she would get herself something to eat first.

**. .**

**. .**

A few hours later, after having eaten, exercised, and showered, IF felt fresh and ready to actually start the day.

It took her a while to realise she had unconciously walked to work, though. By the time she noticed where she was, she already stood in the elevator in Planeptower. The young woman blinked and eyed the ascending numbers for a moment, wondering how she could be _that_ absent-minded.

But if she was already here, she decided, she could as well go and enjoy the view. A few buttons were pressed and she left the elevator on the same level as the main observation deck; it was free for public use, allowing everyone to take a look over Nicos and far beyond the city. They built it high enough that even the largest skyscrapers could not bar the view into the distance.

As she wandered down the corridors, she considered paying Nepgear a visit as well. It had been a few days since she saw her friend. As she dodged a trio of attendants in their usual purple robes, IF decided it would be a bad idea to interrupt her at the moment. CPUs were busy, that was a fact of life. She got used to it and did not mind waiting until Nepgear was free again.

Entering the observation deck a few minutes shy of noon, on a workday no less, meant that she was basically on her own. There were a handful of other people, half of which only threw her passing glances. The other half stared for a few moments, but she ignored them and went to the front.

There she saw the group that did not pay much attention to her; three brunettes, one of which was a teenager. The other two were adorable twin girls who could be no older than eight and had the older one in their middle.

The older girl gave IF a calm nod, which she returned. There was no real emotion on her expression aside from the fond smile that blossomed whenever she eyed her siblings. Something was off about her in a way the young woman could not yet quite put.

The twins were looking out onto the city curiously, identical in their soft features but oh so different in their dressware. The short-haired girl wore a short-sleeved shirt, white with blue stitchings that matched her light blue skirt; the long-haired girl was clad in a light pink hoodie and cream-coloured shorts.

Wearing that kind of clothes in winter, IF knew, meant they had to be Loweeans. No one aside from some mages would be willing to subject themselves to that.

And as the words Lowee and Twins met in her mind, IF understood what had bothered her. She sighed and plopped onto the bench next to the short-haired girl, who shied a little further toward her sister. "Well, so much for that. What brings you here?"

The Candidates eyed her with lost looks, which turned to their sister a moment later when she snorted. "You figured that out pretty quickly." IF could feel magic asserting itself around them, though. White Heart gave her a nod. "No need to hold back, nobody can overhear now."

She sighed at that and shook her head weakly. "Come on, I'm not that dense. The only people who dress like that in winter are Loweeans." She motioned for their clothes, prompting the twins to look themselves over. "And mages, but most don't have the juice to do that for long. Anyway, so you are from Lowee, with a pair of twins no less, and they are the most adorable kids I have ever seen in my life. Perfectly cute, with a sister that is inhumanly pretty to boot. So no, that wasn't difficult at all."

Both twins blushed and averted their eyes, though IF did not. White Heart eyed her with a faint grin now. "Fair enough. I like your attitude, by the way."

The human woman waved that off with a sigh. "Look, I got called out of bed at two in the morning and went around killing monsters until eight. I'm not in the mood to be respectful when, by all accounts, Nep might have done that on purpose to get me to be right here right now for this meeting." She leaned back and took a deep breath, hoping that nobody would comment on her rambling. "It's starting to weird me out that I keep meeting CPUs. That's not normal."

Much to her and the twins' surprise, White Heart actually snorted and began to chuckle, holding a hand in front of her mouth to stifle the expression of mirth.

A few seconds passed before she managed to get a hold of herself; once she did, she offered IF an actual smile. "You should consider that you are not normal, either. Anyway," and with that her expression returned to its blank state and the amused tone vanished almost entirely from her voice. "As you guessed, I am Blanc, Lowee's White Heart. With me are Rom," where she motioned for the twin between her and IF, who nodded shily, "and Ram."

The other one grinned at IF cheerfully from behind her sister, leaning forward to see her. "Nice to meet you! Who are you?"

She snorted at that and reached over. "Maker IF, just passing by. Nice to meet you, too." Ram eagerly took her hand and shook it, the force of her grip making the human wince. "You, uh, should tone it down a little more on the force."

"Oops, sorry." The pressure lessened and IF smiled at the Candidate, who grinned back once it was clear she was not angry. Blanc eyed them with interest while Rom kept her eyes averted. Though she did sneak glances that IF saw. There was a scent of cinnamon in the air, one that all three CPUs appeared to share.

Once she was back to sitting normally, she offered the more subdued Candidate her hand as well; Rom blushed slightly, her demeanor making it difficult for IF not to actually squeal at her sight. She did, however, slowly grab for her hand. It took her several seconds, but IF waited patiently and offered her a gentle smile when her fingers closed around Rom's. "Nice to meet you as well, Rom." She mumbled something incoherent and IF snickered at her, gaining her attention. "I'll tell you a secret: your better at moderating yourself than Ram."

"Hey!" The other twin pouted at her, though Blanc snorted quietly. Rom blinked and looked at their hands curiously.

Then she offered her a shy smile. "Um, thank you. It is nice to meet you too, IF." Her words came slow in comparison to her siblings, though IF could not tell whether it was hesitation or just normal for Rom. So she ignored the matter and squeezed her hand gently before letting go.

That done, she left the girl her personal space and turned her attention back to Blanc, who extended her hand before IF could say anything. The human woman sighed and rolled her eyes, but accepted the gesture. "But really, what are you doing here? I had no idea the Candidates would travel that early."

"They don't, at least not by themselves," Blanc told her earnestly and turned her gaze back to the outside. "Nepgear and Uni had to stay at home until they were about a year old, and I am going to do the same for these two; you will need the time to learn," she added when Ram opened her mouth to protest.

With her sister reprimanded, Blanc continued explaining: "This trip is an exception and also a bit of a tradition. Instead of having everyone come over to meet the twins, we travel through each nation to introduce them to the other CPUs."

"M-Miss Noire is a little scary..." Rom spoke quietly and quickly ducked her shoulders when she realised IF had heard her. Her fear turned into confusion when the human snorted; the fact IF petted her head a moment later did not yield any of either, though.

"Yeah, she can be pretty intimidating. So you were in Lastation first?" A nod; IF noted that Blanc held Ram back and focussed on Rom for now. "How do you like Uni, then?"

"We, uh, we have not seen much of her." The timid twin pondered the question a moment longer, giving IF the time to force herself into releasing her head. "Miss Noire said she was really busy, and she looked tired. But she still played with us, so I think she is nice."

Blanc smiled over the conclusion; Ram nodded along with Rom, much more enthusiastic than her sister sounded. Though both of them became curious what IF was grinning about a moment later; the older brunette lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Then you will love Nepgear. She is the sweetest thing in this nation."

"Oh, do you have a crush on her?" Ram's eyes gleamed as she asked, though IF's "No" was so quick that it wiped the expression off her face. It was not even a lie; she may have wondered about the matter before, but the answer she could give now was solid.

"I'm not a girl for romance," was all she told them on the matter; Ram deflated.

On the other hand, Rom tilted her head slightly and turned to her big sister. "You said all humans want romance. Is that one of those generalisations you said to be careful about?"

"Exactly." Blanc gave her sister a pat on the head. "There are exceptions to almost every rule. You always have to expect things to happen differently than you think they will."

"Oh, oh!" Ram tapped Blanc's shoulder rapidly to get her attention. "What's a rule without exceptions?"

Her question prompted the older CPU to ponder for a moment. IF was waiting for the answer as well, seeing that she could not immediately think of anything without exceptions. However, she also took note of the fact Rom and Ram both had all of their attention on their sister now. No thought was spent on the human right next to them.

When Blanc responded, it was thoughtful. "You can not divide by zero. No exceptions, unless you accept errors as results. Math is like that." She looked between her sisters, then sighed; IF could hear the concern in her next words: "Be careful, though. People can not be quantified by math. You can get statistics and psychology, but there will always be outliers and special cases."

Then Blanc grinned. "Think of a person who was born with high SP and no talent with the sword. What would you say they do?"

IF's expression fell and she threw the goddess a _look_, but it was ignored. Rom and Ram exchanged glances as well, thus missing the adults' exchange. "I think," Ram started, only for Rom to take over, "that they would become a mage. However," "with how you phrased it, they might become a swordsman instead." This time, Ram finished Rom's statement and continued thoughtfully, ignoring the alienated IF. "But would anyone actually do that?"

Blanc smiled at them and crossed her arms. "Yes, and quite recently as well."

This time, Ram caught IF's grimace and turned to her. The subtle shift made Rom turn as well and the Maker found two curious looks directed at herself. She sighed and pointed at herself. "Here she is, and why do people keep bringing it up?"

"Because it is unusual," Rom told her earnestly; then she ducked her head and Ram took over without the slightest pause: "if you are good at magic, you become a mage. If you are good with weapons, you train with those instead."

"Don't care." She simply brushed the logic off like that, giving the twins pause. IF folded her hands as she elaborated, not willing to risk clenching them because of Rom. "That's what your big sister was trying to teach you: sure, the path you laid out makes the most sense, but humans don't care about that often. I never cared that none of my skill comes intuitively, I just work harder until it doesn't matter anymore."

"Oh." Rom pondered her words while Ram crossed her arms and kicked her legs out. "But it doesn't make any sense. Why did you make things harder for yourself?"

IF raised an eyebrow at the Candidate, grinning as she answered: "Let me ask you a question in return. Would you let Lady Green Heart adopt you?"

It had its intended effect, making the child's mouth fall open in shock; IF continued without paying any mind to it. "I don't know if the fact you have to share your Share-intake does anything. That aside, I was told that Candidates develop more if they have a peer to test themselves against. Now, the other two are too old to be suitable opponents for you, and you are less willing to compete earnestly with a sibling in the same nation. But if you or Rom were of Leanbox instead?"

She let that sink in and, upon realising Blanc was still there, carefully decided to stop. The older CPU's eyes held a tinge of red and she was grinding her teeth, obviously fighting for control over herself.

"You're right," Ram admitted with a sigh while Rom finally shook off the startled expression IF's proposal brought onto her face; the timid twin nodded as well. "Yes. Even if it were better for us, we would stay with Blanc no matter what."

IF offered them both encouraging smiles. "Exactly. Everyone does suboptimal things because they want to do them. CPUs may do that less often than humans, but it still happens. I wanted to be strong, so I went for it."

"And that," Blanc chimed in after taking a deep breath, "is the Purple Creed. None will ever work harder for what they want than those of Planeptune." She motioned for IF as she spoke, the human woman nodding in agreement. That was what Neptune's creed was about after all.

"Anyway," IF took over again. "Why do your eyes change colour?" She had not observed any comparable effect with any of the other CPUs; Blanc's display, while intimidating, also drew her curiousity.

The other brunette raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, then followed the gesture with a shrug. "Histoire says it is a personal quirk, I do not know much more than that. I had it since my apotheosis; whenever I get sufficiently angry, they turn red." She did not appear to mind it particularly much, so IF let it be.

"I've never seen them go red before." Ram curiously leaned over her older sister and looked into her eyes, balancing on Blanc's leg as she did. "Now I wanna see!"

The older CPU softly shook her head and lifted her sibling back into her seat. "No." Her response was flat as most of what she said, leaving Ram pouting; curiously, neither twin argued the command.

"That aside, I think we have seen enough of the city now. Do you want to come along, IF?" Blanc's question confused her for a moment until she remembered that the group from Lowee was here for Neptune and Nepgear. She nodded and got up at the time the twins hopped out of their seats.

"I don't mind. Nepgear probably needs someone to drag her out of her room again, anyway." Blanc snorted, though Rom and Ram only threw them curious looks.

A short walk later, the four of them stood in the elevator that went all the way up to the CPUs home; IF left the little button-trick to Blanc and leaned against the back wall. At this point, the absurdity that was her life had left her only able to roll with it. Three more CPUs, two of them less than two months old. Neptune _had_ to be involved in this somehow.

Yet, this once, it had not been Neptune's plan. IF could not know, but this one instance had been mere chance.

As the elevator began moving, Rom took a hold of Blanc's hand and looked up at her. Ram quickly followed her sister's example and the sight had IF suppress a sigh. Seeing these two almost made her consider having a child of her own, ten years or so down the line.

When their ascension ended, Blanc stepped forward without hesitation; Rom held back for a single moment but deemed staying by her sister's side more important than being out of another CPU's sight; Ram cheerfully strode forward, let go, and darted into the room ahead of the other two. She was immediately caught by a purple blur that dashed out from next to the doorframe, squeaking in surprised as she was carried into the room.

Neptune giggled, twirling around a few times and holding her up with a bright smile. "Now look what I found! One of the four cutest girls I've ever seen!" Ram blinked at her, a faint blush creeping onto her cheek; the purplette ignored it while IF and Blanc sighed. "Now, which one are you? Rom or Ram?"

"I'm Ram." And as she spoke, the Candidate's cheer returned; she quickly threw her arms around Neptune, who hugged her back and stroked her hair. "And you're Neptune."

"Yep, I'm Nep alright!" She cuddled Ram for another moment, though her eyes already wandered over the remaining visitors; IF and Blanc both rolled their eyes, though Rom hid behind her sister. Seeing this, Neptune's smile became a bit more tender. The purplette quickly twirled Ram in her hands and stalked forward; the Candidate squealed in surprised joy, but became curious once she realised what was happening.

While hiding herself behind Ram, Neptune slowly approached Blanc and Rom; the older Loweean obviously suppressed another sigh, though IF could see no hostility in her posture at all. Then again, she reasoned, this woman had to live with Neptune for more than five centuries. She ought to be used to her antics.

Rom, while initially trying to stay behind Blanc, soon adopted an expression similar to her twin; Ram was still held up in the air and carried toward her. Naturally, Rom was not fooled by the maneuver, though she could not think of any reason for it and slowly inched out of her hiding place to watch what was going to happen.

Once Neptune stood right next to Blanc, holding Ram almost to Rom's face, she poked out her head from behind the Candidate in her arms. "Hi!" Rom blinked at her dumbfoundedly, but then began to giggle. Ram was released and Neptune offered Rom a cheerful smile, which was returned this time. "See, much better. Don't frown like Blanc all the time, you're much cuter like this."

Without even looking, the planeptunian CPU ducked her head away to avoid the hand aiming to slap her; then she stuck her tongue out at Blanc and darted through the room at speed IF could not follow. One moment she stood next to them, the next she was behind the table; Rom and Ram both giggled, Blanc grumbled.

"Anyway, I baked a cake for everyone!" From her position behind the table, looking at Neptune made it impossible not to also see the cake; IF saw a lot of cream and strawberries, and the smell made her mouth water a little. Then Neptune pulled her out of her appreciation: "Isa, be a dear and fetch Nepgear."

The human woman nodded slowly and eyed her ruler. "Sure. Is she in her workshop?" Neptune shook her head and pointed toward the sisters' shared room. The door of which was five metres from where either of them stood. "Really?"

"Yep. Delegating is the fun part of being in charge." Neptune grinned and raised a knife. "I'll cut the cake in the meantime."

IF was not sure what to think of the fact that her sigh prompted another bout of giggles from Ram. She strolled over to the door and entered with a single knock, snapping on the light as she went.

Nepgear was not at her desk, though; a moment of looking around revealed her to be napping, blanket drawn over her head and perfectly still. IF rolled her eyes and stepped to her bedside, then poked the Candidate's side. A faint giggle made it clear her friend was awake.

"Come on, get up. Blanc and the twins are here." She pulled the blanket away as she spoke, though Nepgear shot up fast enough that it did not matter in the first place.

"They are? Is it that late already?!" The purplette frantically hopped out of bed, tearing her blanket in the process without noticing; IF eyed the slightly torn cloth and just dropped it on the lower bunk with a sigh.

"Goodness, that means today is the ninth already. Uni's coming today, too! I have to-" Her pacing was interrupted when IF punched her in the face. The brunette had to shield her hand with a quick burst of Awakening lest the impact break it, but Nepgear was merely pushed back two steps. She had braced herself even against the surprise attack.

"Calm down," IF advised her friend while shaking out the hand; Nepgear took a deep breath and felt her nose, then pushed it the slightest bit to the right and back in place. She would not even bruise from such a weak impact, IF knew. "Calm down, get out of here and enjoy the cake Nep made. You can worry about beating Uni into the ground later."

Sometimes, she wondered at what point she transitioned into not being phased by this; she just punched someone in the face to get the equivalent of a gentle bop on the head in terms of impact. At least it worked, seeing that Nepgear's usual smile returned; the purplette nodded and strolled out of the room.

IF followed her, but stopped right out of the door; she cast a glance aside to find the twins right there, in the prime position of children who were just eavesdropping. Nepgear stood a few steps ahead and looked around for where the other Candidates may be.

Meanwhile, Neptune and Blanc were seated with a cup of tea and a piece of cake in front of each; their attention obviously lay on them, though.

Nepgear finally turned and found the twins where IF already saw them; by the time she did, Ram already stood in front of her curiously. Rom carefully inched forward while her younger sister examined their fellow Candidate and was examined in turn.

"Hm. You're bigger than miss Neptune." Ram tilted her head after making that statement; Blanc snorted in the background, but neither of them paid her any mind.

Nepgear merely smiled, though. "So I am. I am Nepgear, Planeptune's Purple Sister. And I am so happy to meet you both." She almost whispered the last part, voice laden with both happiness and adoration. Ram grinned and Rom blushed, but both squeaked when she swept them into a hug. "It's such a wonderful thing you were born!"

All the other adults smiled at the sight; IF leaned against the wall and waited until her friend let the twins down. Neptune grinned at Blanc, who rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Hm." Once the blushing girls were back on the ground, Nepgear looked between them with a finger on her lip. Her gaze went back and forth a few times, then she pointed at Ram. "Are you Ram then?" A nod, and she pointed to Rom. "So you are Rom?" Another nod, which prompted the purplette to beam. "I hope we can get along. Now there are four of us Candidates, too."

Slowly, Rom also began to smile and took Nepgear's hand; Ram tilted her head thoughtfully, though. Then she beamed back. "I like Uni better, but you're great too!"

IF coughed, having attempted to stop herself from snorting. Nepgear blinked and began to giggle before petting the younger girl's head. "It's fine, I like Rom more than you, too." She had a playful note to it, though Ram pouted, which only made her giggle again. "Hehehe, but Uni _is_ pretty great."

"You're biased, though," IF quipped from the side; her comment drew the attention from all three Candidates. Nepgear just shrugged, not seeing any reason to deny what they both knew was true. Upon being reminded of her presence however, Ram ducked below the purplette's arm and darted over.

When she came to stand in front of IF, the human got a bad feeling. "You just hit Nepgear really hard, and you're really strong, right?" The bad feeling intensified, and not because Neptune threw her a curious glance.

"Yes? I kind of have to be as a Maker?"

"Show me! Hit me!"

Now she knew where the bad feeling had come from. IF took a deep breath and cast a glance to Blanc; Rom had blanched and Nepgear's brow was creased, but the loweean ruler sat without motion.

When she saw the reaction to her demand, Ram puffed up her cheeks and pushed her fists into her hips. "Don't treat me like a kid! I'm tough like Blanc!" She may even have a point, being the heir of Lowee; White Heart _was_ famous for her sturdy nature.

IF still held her gaze doubtfully; the older brunette sighed. "You are barely a month old, Ram. You're a child, and I won't ever be willing to hurt a child, no matter what you say." The Candidate's mouth closed, her retort unsaid. IF continued with audible resignation. "But I really don't need you to pester me about it, and I know you will. Still, you better think about this a little longer: I can hit adult CPUs so they at least feel it, and I just got a lesson about not holding back against any of you. Are you _sure_?"

Ram's expression was now interlaced with insecurity for a few moments. Her arms lowered back down and she actually mulled it over. Rom fearfully squeezed Nepgear's hand, both Candidates staying back; Blanc and Neptune watched the whole thing without any visible signs of their thoughts.

Then Ram looked up at her with determination; in this moment, IF learned once more what divine pride meant. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! Go on, one punch won't hurt me!" Ram even bounced up and down a little.

IF sighed again, offered every other person in the room a pained look, and pulled up her Awakening; feeling the force of her presence, Ram became a little concerned once again. Her heart beat heavily, and IF actually needed two seconds to shed any notion of hesitation; one hand balled into a fist and she took a step aside.

Then she lashed out and hammered her fist into Ram's face; some force made it even through the defensive properties of her aura, sending a weak spike of pain through IF's fist, and the Candidate went flying.

Due to IF's adjusted position, Ram was propelled right into Nepgear's arms; her impact still threw the purplette onto her back while IF's Awakening receded. The human woman sighed and did her best to ignore Ram's pained whimper.

The young CPU's head lolled back and forth, her nose obviously broken. She had her eyes closed and tried to hold back tears; a small trickle of blood rolled down to her mouth, hissing and smoking the moment it came in contact with the surrounding air. IF averted her gaze from the sight.

Rom leaned over her sister in concern, hands feeling her nose. "Do not worry, Ram. You are just bleeding a little, and I need to..." A crunch. "...reset your nose." And IF had thought she could not feel worse about what she just did. Blanc did not seem ready to murder her, though; if anything, the Loweean appeared sympathetic and a little bit impressed. Then again, her eyes were almost gleaming crimson at the moment. Neptune had a hand on her shoulder just in case, making IF consider to bolt.

Nepgear slowly propped herself up, making sure to jolt Ram as little as possible while Rom fussed over her; the older Candidate produced a handkerchief to lend her new friend, who accepted it with a smile and began to clean off the corrosive blood. Seeing that the cloth was made of Share Energy, it could safely carry the bloodstains and dissolve with them once its task was done.

Once she was clean, Ram sighed and quickly gleamed green for a few moments; Nepgear's outstretched hand fell away and she quickly let go when the younger girl hopped out of her lap.

The moment she was on her feet however, Ram darted back to IF with a wide grin. "That was _awesome_! I didn't know humans can get that strong! How did you do it? Tell me, tell me!" IF herself stood there and let her hop up and down in front of her, still busy trying to comprehend what just happened.

She had hit a child, hard enough to injure her. And instead of being mad or scared or whatever else, she came running back and apparently liked her _more_ for it. Seeing that Rom followed her with a curious look, that apparently went for the other twin as well.

IF slowly reached out and put a hand on Ram's head, gently pushing the girl back to the ground. "Some other time, okay? I'm still... dealing with the whiplash."

"Huh?" The excitable girl tilted her head, unsure what IF was talking about. "What whiplash?" IF just sighed and ruffled her hair, then strolled over to the table and confiscated Neptune's second slice of cake before the purplette could dig in. Her protesting whine went ignored, though Blanc smirked at the sight, her eyes slowly adopting a normal colour again.

Nepgear quickly took the twins by their hands and led them over as well. "I can explain that to you in a little bit, if you want. Let's have that cake first, though."

The "'Kay!" was perfectly in synch and soon everyone was gathered around the table. Rom and Ram obviously enjoyed the treat, and IF had to admit that she rarely had a better cake.

"Anyway," Neptune piped up after half a minute of playful pouting. She turned to Blanc, who did not bother meeting her gaze. "How is that novel of yours coming along?"

"So so," the more petite CPU told her with a little shrug. "I am still busy building the world."

Now Neptune tilted her head and poked Blanc's side. "But you said that last year already. And the year before that, and, uh, has it been ten years already?" She scratched the back of her head while IF and the Candidates listened curiously.

Blanc did not react aside from a roll of her eyes. "It has been eight years, and I should be almost done. Once I actually thought about it, there was a lot more to be worked out than I initially thought. Just try to imagine how the world would look like without monsters or the Deity of Sin." Neptune nodded in understanding, though the concept intrigued IF.

In the end, she asked: "What are you writing?"

Blanc glanced her way and sipped from a cup of tea before answering. She motioned for the outside world with one hand. "I figured I would do something else for once, so I went into darker territories of Alternate Fantasy novels; imagine a world without monsters, without Her, without us CPUs. Humans rule humans, their nature kept in check by no one but themselves. No large nations, everything is fractured into small lands and settled, but people are not happy because those in power are as greedy and corrupt as anyone else. Large enterprises hold sway on the government due to their financial power."

IF shivered at the mere idea of it all. That sounded like a horror vision right there, and she could not even imagine living in such a world. "You're right, that's pretty dark."

"Don't worry," Neptune chirped immediately, "you're never getting to read it anyway 'cause Blanc never publishes her stuff." She leaned away from the swipe for her head and grinned at her fellow CPU. "Come now, don't be shy and admit you're too much of a perfectionist to let anyone see your stuff."

As much as Blanc frowned, she ultimately lowered her head in agreement. "I hate that I can not deny it," she muttered under her breath; IF felt with her on that end, though she did not know this was an actual problem for writers.

"I wanna read it anyway!" Ram cheered before giving her older sister puppy dog eyes. "Please?" IF melted even without those being directed at her, doubly so when Rom joined her twin. She only barely managed not to squeal and going from how Nepgear just bit off half of her fork, her friend appeared to feel similarly on that matter.

Blanc eyed her sisters with a calm expression, though everyone could see her weakly shaking shoulders. "We will see," she allowed in the end; then she took a deep breath and followed it up with another sip from her tea. "If you promise not to tell anyone."

""'Kay!""

IF's chuckle at the eager response was interrupted by a door slamming open. The only door in this place she had never used, as it led to the roof. Neptune had been quite strict on that matter, and IF never tried to risk standing a kilometre above ground with no railings.

Now it slammed open and a black-haired woman in her mid-twenties stumbled inside, falling to the ground a moment later; she laughed happily and spread all her limbs as she rolled around on the floor. "Ground, safe ground, finally," the new arrival muttered while everyone else eyed her with lost expressions. She wore a crimson sweater with little black cogwheels stitched on it, as well as a pair of dark jeans.

Moments later, two other people arrived through the same door; these two, everyone in attendance knew perfectly well.

"Come now, stop being such a whimp." Uni cheerfully crouched next to the downed woman and poked her head a few times. "We even went slow for you." Meanwhile, Noire offered those already present a nod in greeting; Blanc nodded back, Neptune darted over the table to hug her, and everyone else paid more attention to whatever was going on near floor-level.

"Mach two is _not_ slow you bitch!" the downed human gurgled before rolling around and trying to shake off the insistent poking. Uni just giggled, which prompted her victim to wave a hand in her face. "I'll emigrate for real, you know!"

IF's gaze went from the spectacle to Noire. "You brought us K-Sha, I guess?" She could not be sure because the woman's face was still obscured, but that made the most sense to her.

Noire's lips curled into a smile and she nodded, thoughtlessly pushing back one of her twintails as she motioned for her sister and Maker. "Quite. Uni insisted on delivering her today, and it might cost me one of my champions."

"Good thing we have half a year to get RED to stay," her Candidate added cheerfully while K-Sha groaned.

"S-Someone," the downed Maker brought out as she rolled on her back. "A little help? Please?"

Uni already moved to leave her alone, but IF decided that if everyone else had gone mad, she might as well play along. So she pushed back her chair with a dramatic sigh. "Sure, give me a moment, future colleague." Eyes went to her, including K-Sha's, while she looked between Ram and Nepgear. Then she picked up the loweean CPU and stepped around the table. "Now, Ram? Be a dear and say hello to Uni."

A surge of her Awakening and then she threw the Candidate, who whooped gleefully before impacting Uni's chest face first. The ballistic girl did not manage to bowl the Lastationite over though, seeing that she was caught in mid-air. Ram grinned at her. "Hey, Uni!"

"Hello to you too, Ram." Uni had one eye on IF, who had quickly moved to help K-Sha up and was currently leading her over to the couch; she did not stop them, though. "I see you met IF."

"Yup." The Candidates stared at each other from up close for a second, then Uni dropped Ram; the younger girl righted herself before her feet touched the ground.

"Thanks," K-Sha told her fellow Maker once she was lowered onto a soft spot to rest. "You're a lifesaver. Those women are crazy." IF squeezed her shoulder in sympathy and pushed the older woman to lie down.

"That they are, the whole lot of them." Not a single CPU even appeared to be surprised by her agreement; most perked up when IF continued with a grin: "Not Rom, though. Maybe there is still hope for the next generation to have someone reasonable."

"I'll drink to that." K-Sha chuckled, though the sound quickly transitioned into a groan. "Urgh, but later." IF patted her back again and got up to leave her be.

Of the seven CPUs present, only Uni was grinning; Neptune and Ram were pouting at IF for the last comment, Nepgear appeared busy with not-obviously marveling at the sight of a happy Uni, Blanc and Rom eyed each other, and Noire did not seem to pay attention as she tasted the cake.

At least now she knew there would be no idle time for the day.


	55. Heroes Are Just People 6

_Ugh, there I actually wake up and you're watching children play? Doesn't anything interesting ever happen among the living?Oh, that human child over there is interesting, though. Over there, Mom; that Akari girl._

-Croire, the first Tome

* * *

K-Sha had split off from their group a while ago, having recuperated enough to go and unpack. Her things had been delivered by train, much to the Lastationite's relief and annoyance.

IF, on the other hand, knew she had to stay around. Nepgear had all but said so when she made an attempt to excuse herself, which meant that she spent an afternoon listening to CPUs talk. The three older ones were going through topics so fast that there was not a chance to join them; the Candidates had devolved into a weird kind of Q&A where Rom and Ram asked while Nepgear and Uni answered.

IF left them to their own devices, chiming in once in a while and otherwise closing her eyes to get some rest. She _was_ getting a little tired after sitting around for so long.

A small finger poing her cheek made the young woman's eyes snap open and turn to Ram, who was suddenly sitting next to her; the young CPU displayed a little grin and poked her again. "No time to sleep, we're going somewhere!"

Apparently, IF had fallen asleep for a short while. She blinked and shook her head to clear it, to no avail. Sighing, she brought a hand up to her face and plucked some of her magic; it turned into ice under her attention, all but freezing her skin the moment it left her fingers. IF shivered, fully awake now.

Ram eyed her curiously, as did Rom from her other side; she had not even noticed the other twin there. The human shrugged and got up, ignoring how basically every adult CPU was grinning at her.

"Aww, is little Isa tired?" Neptune tried to pet her head, but IF rolled her eyes and stepped aside; she was not in the mood to play around and her friend took the hint. Nepgear, the only one not obviously amused by her current state, offered her an apologeptic smile.

Thankfully, attention went back to the two adult Candidates as they took the elevator downward. Blanc explained the upcoming duel to her sisters while Noire and Neptune grinned at each other without breaking eye contact. Much in difference to these two, Uni and Nepgear did not meet each other's eyes. They stood perfectly still and had not spoken much to each other before now either.

It was jarring, in a way. IF knew how they normally acted toward each other, and this amount of nervousness did not fit.

**. .**

**. .**

The journey into the depths of Planeptower took them a good fifteen minutes of awkward silence. As she already expected, Neptune's personal training chamber had been chosen for the duel; IF had been in there herself and knew that the vast hall perfectly suited combatants who could go airborne.

"Is it really okay for me to be here?" She could not help but ask; with K-Sha having departed, IF was the only human among almost every deity of the pantheon. She felt more than a little out of place, no matter how used she got to them.

Rom and Ram looked to Blanc, whose eyes went to the older Candidates. Neptune and Noire also cast their gazes that way, the unspoken statement clear: it was up to them.

Uni shrugged as turned back from where she was about to enter the next room and leave the spectators behind. "You're a dear friend, so I want you here to watch me win."

Nepgear nodded, standing next to her opponent with an understanding smile. "As she said. To be honest, I would rather throw miss Blanc and the twins out than tell you to leave." The twins' eyes grew wide at that, though their older sister did not appear surprised.

IF sighed and flopped onto one of the seats. "Alright." She really did not know what else to say; her friends chuckled and turned back to wander inside. Neptune closed the doors behind them and adjusted some screens right above that began to depict the inside. The purplette quickly hopped onto the seat to IF's right, with Ram taking the one to her left. Blanc sat in-between her sisters and everyone turned their attention to what was going on inside.

Nepgear and Uni were still staring at each other without saying anything. She suspected that it was both because they tried to read something out of the other's expression and to give the spectators some time to get set up.

Several seconds passed, then Uni began to grin and IF knew it was on. "So tell me, have you stopped fighting like a girl since last time?"

Nepgear tilted her head slightly, hands folded behind her back. "I am a girl, though."

"A human girl." Uni's grin widened and Nepgear's mouth formed an O-shape as she understood. When the Planeptunian only smiled however, Uni frowned and continued to mock her: "Speaking of, how is that power enhancer going that you're building? Did you get it done in time for this, or do you have to try it on your own strength?"

Nepgear frowned as well over that one, though the expression quickly vanished and was replaced by a friendly smile. "Oh you, I don't make stuff like that. No need for it."

She fell silent again and Uni's frown deepened; much like her, the spectators wondered what was up with Nepgear. Blanc had already explained the first 'round' to the twins, who had been waiting and appeared a little disappointed now.

"You know," the Lastationite finally quipped, "this would work a lot better for you if you at least _tried_ to insult me back."

It was now that Nepgear's smile turned mischievous. The Planeptunian adopted a calm and slow tone, as if she was explaining to a child: "but Uni, you _know_ I am only supposed to insult people at least as strong as myself."

Uni stilled in surprise, as did the other CPUs. IF's eyebrows rose over the unexpected attack, especially with how vicious it was once she thought about it. Nepgear apparently forewent normal jabs to go for the kill in one stroke.

"You didn't just say that."

"I did."

And it worked. With how cheerfully the purplette responded, Uni actually clenched her fist. She then exploded in silver light and assumed Hard Drive Divinity, an ornate longsword forming in her hand; Nepgear followed immediately after, presenting her gunblade with a grin quite unlike her usual demeanor.

"However." Uni's words stopped the older Candidate from charging her; with how Neptune and Blanc frowned, IF understood it was unusual to keep talking at that point. Uni did not seem to care; she pointed her blade at Nepgear. "Once I defeated you, you will go out with me."

Nepgear's eyes widened to almost comically proportions, but her slack-jawed surprise was quickly replaced by one of the brightest smiles ever seen on her. "Okay! Once I won, you will go out with me."

Their smiles turned into grins, they readied their blades, and darted forward.

The first exchange went so quick that IF could not follow it; so instead, she eyed Neptune. The ruler of Planeptune still stared at the screen like a fish, much to Noire's amusement. She could not help but ask: "I take it that part was unusual?"

"It was," the black-haired CPU told her cheerfully. "Contrary to how those two make it look, we do not end our banter by hooking up most of the time." IF snorted quietly and turned her attention back to the duel, which had transitioned from near ground level to being fought close to the ceiling. It was fast even when she enhanced her mind with Awakening, but at least she could then see how Nepgear was pressing Uni; a barrage of stabs went down on the Lastationite, though she parried most and let the rest slide off her armour.

Offense quickly shifted into defense when Uni managed to put more force into a deflection and opened Nepgear's guard. The purple CPU fell back to dodge the first few strikes before her opponent pursued, then protected herself with a mix of quick parries and waves of flame emanating from her entire form. The heat made the air flicker, evidently strong enough to make even another CPU not want to be hit. Uni quickly formed a replenishing sphere of ice around herself before diving into the fire.

These exchanges continued for a few seconds, with IF noting to herself how difficult it must be to fight in three dimensions. The Candidates constantly changed their altitude to make parrying their attacks and targeting weak points more difficult.

Then one of Nepgear's strikes hit home, ripping open Uni's left arm and splattering the ground in hissing crimson; before it even left the wound however, the Lastationite unleashed a lightning strike that traveled through the gunblade and electrocuted Nepgear.

Both of them took distance to survey the damage; Uni kept bleeding in small trickles while Nepgear had a few scorch marks all over her arm. Both of them had aimed for center mass, though.

"Ah, I was wondering where the lightning was." Neptune grinned and threw a glance at Noire. "Did you give her some hints for that one?"

The other CPU shook her head. "She made this on her own. You know I don't give hints like that."

"Nah, I know you coddle everyone." The purplette ignored her colleague's glare and turned to IF with a grin. "For context, each of us has a knack for a specific element. Mine and Nepgear's are fire, Blanc's is ice, Vert in Leanbox has wind, and Noire and Uni have lightning. It's something like an Affinity, but still different. Our personal elements are simply stronger; planeptunian fire is the only one that can actually harm an armoured CPU, for example."

That at least explained the ice Uni used to cool it down.

Meanwhile, Nepgear had apparently decided that an electrocuting defense was best answered by not triggering it; she took distance and began to shoot her opponent with purple laser bolts. Uni nimbly dodged, swimming through the air around each bolt; she made a heavy cannon of her own appear in the meantime, big enough to be held with two hands and about as wide as her own waist. What followed was a battle of wits more than brawn. The Candidates began to dodge each other's shots and predict where the other one would be next.

"Are you sure your Sharicite will hold?" IF could not help but ask, seeing that the walls actually began to deform under the continued bombardment. Nepgear only clipped one of Uni's silvery ringlets once and got the tip of her left foot melted off a little later, everything else splashed against the walls. Tremors ran through the earth even after most of the force was caught.

"Don't worry, it should be fine." Neptune grinned at her, one eye remaining on the screen. "Probably."

Noire's sigh was all the commentary one needed in response to this. IF rolled her eyes and thought back to what she heard about holding back and divine pride. Imagining the devastation those two would wreak if they let loose in the outside world, she could understand why not going all-out would be insulting to them. No human she could think of would be able to be nearly as destructive.

She winced when the flat side of Uni's cannon slammed into Nepgear's face with a surge of lightning flowing over the connection. She received a point-blank shot into her abdomen in turn; it burned through her black armour and left a nasty patch of blackened skin amidst molten steel.

When the two separated to try shooting the other into submission again, IF risked another glance to the other CPUs. She felt it was okay to ask, as they would simply refuse to answer if she overstepped her boundaries. "How did you keep collateral damage down during the war?"

Even with how well she knew Neptune at this point, IF almost missed the way her expression hardened; Noire took a slow breath somewhere out of her field of vision and Ram curiously looked from her to the older CPUs. "What war?"

"I will tell you later," Blanc explained to her sister with a sigh. She then actually answered IF's question: "We used to fight high up in the sky and far out onto the ocean. Calling the seabed a mess would be an understatement to end all understatements. You shouldn't ask about the details, though."

IF nodded. "I wasn't planning to. I already heard you don't like talking about it."

"Good." Blanc left it at that and ignored her sisters' attempts to poke her into telling them now.

The battle had turned from a shootout to a magic contest, as Nepgear filled half of the entire hall with fire and Uni countered with flames of her own; the pinkette's magic was obviously stronger with this particular element and she mercilessly pressed that advantage by engulfing Uni's position. The constant lightning strikes raining out were deftly evaded and she even managed to direct them elsewhere somehow.

Then a flaming orb closed around Uni and Nepgear fell further back before readying her blade. She charged at the exact moment the flames sputtered out under another constantly replenishing bubble of ice. Abusing the cover of the forming steam, Nepgear rammed into Uni's center blade-first. Her weapon was caught and deflected, but then she simply caught her opponent's shoulder and smashed her into the wall. It cracked under the impact and Uni gasped in pain.

That did not stop her from reaching out to ram her fingers into Nepgear's unprotected throat, though; lightning struck through the digits buried in her bloody flesh, so powerful that IF imagined smelling the ozone herself.

Nepgear, however, grinned as she bore the pain. One of her hands firmly wrapped around Uni's throat and the other dislodged her grasp; the fact she took a piece of flesh along went ignored.

IF actually had to look away when her friend started to slam her opponent's face into the wall. Neptune took her hand and softly stroked it, but that did little to return the colour to her face; the brutality displayed in this fight was frightening, especially when it came from two normally so gentle people.

Well, she amended, Nepgear was that gentle. Uni transitioned into being a devious woman with a sharp tongue since her apotheosis.

She only listened to the final moments of the fight; they included the sizzling of fire and buzzes of lightning, as well as a few more crashes. At this point, Ram was comforting her as well and she was quite happy for it. Looking sideways revealed that even sweet Rom followed the situation with curiousity instead of horror, having easily accepted the fact CPUs would even maim each other in a proper duel.

"It's okay, it's over," Ram whispered softly and even went so far as to wrap her in a sidehug. IF offered her a pained smile and patted her head.

She almost did not dare look when the doors slid open, but forced herself to turn her head; there were Nepgear and Uni, both of them back to their civilian forms and at least appearing unharmed. The way Uni grimaced with every step however, even IF could tell the quick fixes Nepgear must have done were merely superficial; she suspected that had been for her own benefit. Both were limping, yet neither appeared in any way unhappy with the solution of their duel.

"About time," Neptune chirped while Rom was half out of her seat and considered actually running over. Both duelists blushed the tiniest bit, though neither appeared to be too bothered by the comment's intended meaning.

Rom shily interjected there: "Um, do you need help with fixing yourselves up?" The girl had one hand half-raised but was obviously unsure whether she should or they actually wanted her to help.

Nepgear shook her head with a kind smile that revealed a broken tooth she missed. "Not to worry, I still have enough power left to get us both back into good condition. It will just take a little while." Rom nodded and plopped back into her chair.

Blanc used the lull in the conversation to speak up: "Good work, both of you." She eyed both Candidates critically, though a weak smile played around her lips. "You should run away before those two start going through the details of where you messed up and what you could have done better." She got looks from Noire and Neptune, though no denials.

IF sighed to play over the moment. "Yeah, that was impressive to see. Just... I can't stomach fights like these, so please don't invite me again." She shook her head for emphasis and noted how her friends flinched.

"Sorry about that," Uni told her apologeptically. "I forgot you're such a delicate thing under that hard surface." It was a mix of apology and teasing, though IF did not rise to the bait. Her friend was not even wrong, in a way.

"I am sorry as well," Nepgear added quietly. "I never even considered that this may be too much for you. And right now, I am afraid I can not even be apologeptic or unhappy." Her eyes flicked to Uni as an explanation, her ducked shoulders and slight fidgeting doing the rest; IF rolled her eyes, then raised an eyebrow when Nepgear continued: "If you would excuse us?"

"Snogging already?" Neptune teased, though Nepgear did not react any further this time. Uni, however, did avert her gaze with a silly smile.

The planeptunian Candidate grinned at her sister unrepentantly. "Well, yes. But first I will patch us both back up to good health." And before anyone could so much as open their mouth, she had grabbed Uni by the arm and dragged her away at a speed that IF could barely follow.

Neptune giggled and even Noire wore a fond smile. Blanc's expression held no changes, though she already had her sisters pulled closer to herself. "I will tell you about the details later; suffice it to say, you might not see much of Nepgear during our stay either."

"Eh, don't worry." Neptune immediately leapt over and slid on her side behind the three, supporting her head with one arm and the elbow on the ground. "I'll make sure they don't elope until you leave, though I doubt you're going to catch either of them alone anytime soon. I'm sure they will understand."

"You underestimate their selfishness," Noire commented from the side. She left it at that even when the other two threw her curious looks, though. IF just rolled her eyes at first.

Then she had an idea.

"So," she started with a look at the twins, "out of curiousity, how tight is your schedule?"

Blanc saw her gaze and narrowed her eyes at first, though a glance to her colleagues made the suspicion fade as fast as it appeared. "We're flexible," she offered calmly. "But whatever you're planning, it only happens if the twins want it to."

"Obviously," IF countered with a roll of her eyes. Then she began to smile and addressed the two remaining Candidates. "So with Nepgear and Uni much rather being with each other at the moment, I was thinking I could get everyone out of their hair for a little while. Do you two think you can moderate yourself enough to play with some human children?"

Going by Neptune's grin, she caught her plan already; Blanc and Noire merely appeared curious about where this was going.

Ram's eyes were sparkling, but her enthusiastic agreement was cut off before it could even begin; Rom had a hand on her shoulder, one brow scrunched in thought. The sight made her appear even more similar to Blanc than she already was.

The twins exchanged looks for several seconds, then turned their eyes to IF. "Not sure," Ram started. "Give us a day to make sure," Rom continued. "But we'd love to," Ram finished. They both smiled and IF felt a part of her melt.

**. .**

**. .**

"Well, talk of unexpected occurences." Despite her dry tone, Mari was smiling. IF had to agree with her. It was two days after the Candidates had their duel, a Sunday. The best time to visit her old home.

As of this moment, Rom had gained the attention of basically every child younger than six and was obviously thrilled by it, while Ram played with the older children; the latter case included a lot of running around while the former appeared to be more about reading or cuddling.

"I am not swamped in children for once," IF told the pinkette with a grin. "I call that a win." Mari chuckled, though her attention was also obviously on the CPUs that sat with them.

Blanc had her eyes on her sisters, mainly Ram; even boys a few years older than the lively twin looked had trouble keeping up with her, though nobody appeared to mind. Noire and Neptune were busy enjoying the pastries and tea prepared for the visitors.

Going by her lightly furrowed brow, Mari had noticed something being off about them; the human mind could justify and overlook many, many things if given no reason to be suspicious. Once something unusual was noted however, many more such facts quickly became obvious.

This woman, who had since suspected that IF's dear friend was Purple Sister and thus had an idea about Neptune's identity, was aware of the incredible beauty distributed all around herself. Where her mind would normally look for hints to confirm her theory, they were freely given by what was already there.

Yet Mari was smarter than to blindly plunge ahead on such a wild thought.

However, her final proof did not take long to appear. One of her boys poked Ram's forehead with a grin. "Bet you can't do this!" He followed this up by creating three gently shining orbs, their dark blue colour quickly changed as they turned to ice and began to orbit his hand in a nearly perfect circle.

Ram smirked and produced three spheres of her own from her hand. "I'll do you one better," she chirped back before turning one to flame, one to light, and the third to a ball of lightning that connected the other two harmoniously. Under everyone's dumbfounded looks, the young girl mashed all three together to create a small twister before snuffing them out.

The following cheer and further challenges prompted the younger children into asking Rom, who started doing little tricks with sparks and snowflakes for them.

Mari deflated a little and heaved a heavy sigh. "At least give me a warning next time, Isa."

IF, unsure why exactly the pinkette reacted as she did, received an unexpected nudge from Neptune; the CPU grinned at her. "Guess she figured it out all on her own. You wouldn't know, but that thing Ram just did was a technique she really couldn't have the fine control for if she was human and the age she looks."

The brunette made an understanding noise and returned her attention to Mari. "Well, sorry about that. It was all on short notice either way."

"I wonder why, though." The curious glance thrown at the whole group told of the woman's interest, though none of the deities she hosted appeared inclined to tell her.

IF grinned and motioned for Neptune. "Nepgear started dating a girl just the other day, so I'm keeping Nep and her idiot friends away from them for a few hours." She ignored the venomous looks from both Blanc and Noire, then rolled her eyes at how pale Mari had become. "I'm not apologising."

The annoyance in both deities quickly faded to a sense of amusement; Noire shook her head and Blanc gently placed a hand on Mari's shoulder. "It is alright. Having a few people who actually have enough of a spine to sass us is a nice change of pace. Broccoli does the same thing at home, and Keiko used to before she retired."

"Doesn't she still call to grumble at you about that from time to time?" Neptune asked while leaning a bit over the table. Blanc shrugged.

"She hasn't done that since I made sure all of her calls go right to Mina instead of me, even if she redirects them." Now both Neptune and Noire chuckled.

Mari appeared as lost as IF felt when she began to interact more with the goddesses. It was interesting how fast one could get used to such things, she mused.


	56. Mortal Interlude - She Who Tames Dragons

_No one is immune to surprise. The very human desire to reach ever higher is well known; the long line of grand heroes, from brave Marakh who drew the blade on Prisme herself, to Isabelle and her unbreakable will, I am not surprised to see._

_Yet this? A culmination of improbable odds that became wholesome where most of its parts were volatile? This has even me stumped._

-A§"o!§e

* * *

High up in Planeptower, a deity sat in wide-eyed stupor.

Much to little Nepgear's confusion, her big sister had not so much as moved a single muscle for several minutes; she may have done so for even longer, as this was only how long the one-year-old had been standing in the door. Histoire hovered right behind her big sister's shoulder, her avatar's eyes directed on the screen in front of them as well.

Finally, Neptune spoke: "I still don't believe what I'm seeing."

"Neither am I," Histoire agreed. Neither deity nor chronicle appeared to have noticed the Candidate yet, though she appeared content with merely watching them for now. Trying to create a viable hypothesis for her sister's moods had become a favourite of little Nepgear's, especially because she could hardly ever tell what was going on in her head.

"Are you sure you're not doing any illusion-stuff with my head? I won't blame you if it's a prank."

Histoire chuckled, though there may have been more seriousness in Neptune's tone of voice than normal. "No, I can assure you this is indeed real. Pranks of such magnitude are unbecoming of... us, I would say, but you may very well be pranking me right now."

"Nope, next prank is next month." The admission came absent-mindedly; Nepgear still wondered just what this was about, unable to find anything of suitable absurdness to prompt such an exchange.

She took a few seconds to run through a few dozen more scenarios, then strolled forward to take her sister's hand. "What's going on?"

Neptune blinked and looked down at her, then smiled and rolled back her chair so Nepgear could climb up; once the Candidate sat in her lap, she wrapped her arms around her and nodded at the screen. "Well, this."

Curiously, it only depicted a human girl; six, perhaps seven years old. Not the wedding ceremony between Black Heart and White Heart she had theorised. The child held some kind of snake in her arms and was looking around curiously.

Nepgear found her short red hair and the pink sundress cute, but figured that was not what her sister was so confused about. Nobody else was in the room, so she figured it must be about this girl. Or perhaps the snake, as she noted that nary a known species grew as big as an adult's arm in width. And she could not recall any of them being golden.

Or having arms, for that matter; she only noticed when the creature shifted slightly; and with the arms, Nepgear found a quite un-snake-like head as well. She had never seen anything like this before. "What is it?"

"An Ancient Dragon," Histoire supplied immediately. "Deformations in monsters are rare but not completely unheard of, yet this is the first which acts this tame."

"Huh." Now the young Candidate understood what was so unusual, though the matter became less clear to her at the same time. "Why was it not killed yet?" Neptune grimaced, having uttered the same question a few minutes earlier; dealing with monsters was a straightforward affair after all.

"It's because of her," the older CPU ultimately told her sister while pointing at the girl; just this moment, she picked up the Ancient Dragon and began to stroke its snout. "We gathered that her name is Louise, and she refuses to let go of this thing; by what she and her parents told us, she found it in one of the parks."

Nepgear nodded as she watched the human child play; she wondered whether her sister would let her play with them, but discarded the thought quickly. Not only was it less of a concern for her with Uni's birth, but this also appeared like a delicate situation.

Histoire offered the Candidate more insight into what transpired: "I scoured the records, but they tell me the same as what she and her parents told us; she found the creature just lying around and began to pet it, gathering no reaction. Then she picked it up and began talking to it."

Nepgear nodded and put a finger on her lip. "How did it get in the city?" The Tome sighed, all eyes remaining on the docile monster.

"According to the defenders on the walls, a small, insect-like monster was sighted an hour before dawn. According to doctrine, the low-level weaponry was used to intercept its path and it had disappeared after a single salvo. The crews noted the lack of death particles, but nobody expected this monster to be as fast as it apparently was. Nobody could anticipate it being an Ancient Dragon, either." Needless to say, nobody blamed the men and women guarding the wall; they did good work.

"Anyway," Neptune took over thoughtfully, "this one didn't act hostile... or at all, really. So Louise went back to her family's picknick and took some food to give it."

"And then?" Nepgear had become curious at this point, but her sister merely stroked her head.

"Nothing, really. She took it back to show her parents, who called the police. But she didn't want to let go, which is a teeny tiny problem in the way of exterminating it." Neptune sighed and lifted her sibling off herself.

Histoire was still eyeing the monster and child. "If this one goes on a rampage within the city, casualties will be disastrous."

Nepgear nodded thoughtfully as she was deposited in her big sister's chair, the older CPU quickly weaving purple staff robes around herself. "Yup. I'm gonna go take a look myself, you two hold down the fort. If the gals call, just make some cute faces to distract them." She threw Nepgear a mock serious look, who straightened in her seat and saluted.

"Yes, ma'am." Both broke into giggles afterward and even Histoire had to smile, then Neptune was out of the door. Her distraction had worked, the younger CPU no longer thinking of the very real threat currently within their main Basilicom.

**. .**

**. .**

They told her to wait, so she did. Though Louise did want to take the chance and explore Planeptower, she knew this was important. Her new friend still remained in her lap, heavy as he was, but she did not mind that; they said he was a monster, but she really did not see anything monstrous.

Granted, his claws and teeth were sharp, but that was true of a cat as well.

Louise had to admit that her neighbour's puppy was less nice to cuddle than this little one; his scales were warm and soft to the touch, but firm and durable at the same time. She really did not understand why everyone said he was dangerous. Her parents shouted at her for it, but she stood her ground; she found him and she wanted to keep him.

Nobody tried to take him from her yet, but she was worried what the people from the Basilicom would say about the matter. Her parents were brought elsewhere for some reason.

She was not scared, though. With her Lady so close, nothing bad could happen.

As if on cue, a pretty girl entered the room; a few strands of purple hair poked out from below her hood, almost unnoticeable due to the similar colour of her garments. The robes were customary for all attendants of a Basilicom; were Louise older, she would have noticed the insignia of an evangelist. The special rank meant to provide day-to-day counseling and hold sermons, especially for followers living in other nations.

As it were, the child was mesmerised by her visitor's kind smile; moments later however, she protectively pulled her scaly friend against herself. He was heavy, but she managed to drag him around before just fine.

"C-Can I go home now?" Much to her dismay, the purplette shook her head. Louise did not stay down for long, though; her visitor sat by her side and offered a curious look.

"Not yet, sweetie. I already heard what happened, and we're all curious about your little friend." Louise's protective embrace loosened a little, though what came next baffled her: "You understand you're holding a monster, yes?" If even the people here said it...

Louise's gaze fell onto the smooth golden scales she only thought of as pretty, as well as the piercing red eyes. She could not see anything scary about it, and Dogoos were the only cute monsters she knew about. "But he's nice." Her eyes wandered back up to the woman, who nodded understandingly.

"I believe you, sweetie. That's what we all find so weird about it; he is a nice monster."

"Monsters aren't nice," the child countered immediately. Everyone knew this and there was no arguing the point. For some reason however, her response prompted a chuckle from the woman.

"That's the point. He shouldn't be, but he is. Do you mind if I talk to him a little?" Louise shook her head and let go of her new friend, the creature sliding back over her shoulder as it was draped before. The purplette smiled at her. "I'm Neptune, by the way."

"Oh. I'm Louise."

"Nice to meet you."

Neptune dropped the conversation at this point and went face to face with the alleged monster; his head was lying on Louise's shoulder, the creature carefully observing her. Their impromptu staring contest ended inconclusive, seeing that neither of them blinked even once.

Then Neptune raised a single finger and poked his scaly snout, to no effect. A few soft pats elicited no response, either. "Hmmm." The purplette put the same finger on her lip as she thought, but then her eyes narrowed the slightest bit. "I wonder..."

She reached out to poke Louise's forehead. A moment before her finger touched the child, the monster moved; Neptune could have easily reacted to it, but decided not to. Needle-like teeth attempted to maul her arm, but merely managed to pierce the CPU's skin.

Louise's eyes widened and she jumped up. "No, don't!" Her attempts to pull the monster off of Neptune did little aside from rattling it a little. "You can't just bite people!" Meanwhile, the one under attack studied her assailant's ferocious if futile assault; she could tell that all the strength hidden in that tiny body was brought to bear, yet the small twinge of pain barely even registered.

Like any other Ancient Dragon, this one was unable to actually injure a deity beyond inconveniencing them.

"Stop! Let go!" Louise was still busy trying to call her friend off; much to Neptune's surprise, the last, desperately uttered command was followed. The dragon let go and slid back into a resting position to eye her carefully; a few droplets of sizzling blood rolled down her arm. The sleeve of her robe was torn easily though, much different to her skin.

Unaware or uncaring of the fact Neptune acted far too aloof for the situation, Louise pulled at her to move. "You're bleeding, you need a doctor!"

However, the girl calmed down a little when all she received was a pat on the head and a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it looks worse than it is." Neptune focussed some of her mediocre healing power to close the superficial wound and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe off her blood. It took twelve seconds until her revealed skin was pristine again. "See? All good."

Then she turned her attention back to the dragon, who continued to look at her without any discernible expression. "Your friend is awfully protective, isn't he?"

Louise followed her gaze, a little stumped and with tears in her eyes after all the excitement. Seeing that, Neptune quickly leaned down and produced another handkerchief to wipe them off. "Hey now, it's alright." The child sniffled once, but nodded; she received a soft smile for it. Neptune ruffled her hair. "You still want to keep him?"

While Ancient Dragons had no concept of gender, like all monsters, both of them decided to treat this one as a boy independent of each other.

Louise thoughtfully looked at the dragon, unsure of herself now. She did not want him to attack people, not at all. Though he did seem to understand her earlier, as he left Neptune alone when she poked him again; even when the purplette slung him around her shoulders and wore him as a scarf, he merely balanced his own weight to not fall off. While the sight made Louise giggle, it also told her that he would behave. So she decided. "Yeah, I wanna."

"Heh, figured." Neptune grinned and disentangled the dragon before handing him back over; he did not even bother doing anything, acting much like dead weight when Louise took him back. "But he is still an Ancient Dragon and could be dangerous, so we have to make sure he can't hurt anyone if he tries. You're okay with that, right?"

Louise nodded. She understood that everyone had to be safe; if precautions were needed, she would accept them. Seeing her acquiesce, Neptune began to explain.

**. .**

**. .**

Eight years passed before they met again. Louise had turned fifteen by this point and never truly regretted keeping the dragon that she named Ryuki.

Her parents were not happy about the matter, but neither of them told her no after Purple Heart herself gave her permission. Ryuki received a specially crafted collar of Sharicite in case he fell out of line, and someone came to check up on them every few weeks for the first year. With no incidents occuring at all, those visits lessened in frequency and stopped completely by the time Louise turned ten. Even her classmates had become interested in her friend, giving her a free in with most existing groups.

A lot of people fed him scraps of their lunch to this day, many of them for the spectacle of seeing the lazy dragon actually move.

Now that she was fifteen and Ryuki had done nothing malicious in such a long time, it was decided to take the collar off. Louise faintly recognised the same cozy room she had been waiting in so long ago, though it felt smaller now; still quite sizable, but smaller.

Then again, most anything felt small in comparison to a deity's radiance. With Purple Heart sitting on the couch opposite to her, Louise had little attention for anything but her ruler. She watched as deft fingers carefully undid half a dozen locks in about as many seconds, freeing Ryuki of the thin band right behind his head. The goddess carefully placed the item in a small box and closed it off before picking him up and handing him back; Ryuki ignored her. "There you go."

The teenager, having had some time to get used to her Lady's presence, took him back with only slightly shaky fingers and a soft "Thank you".

"Is he always this unresponsive?" The curious question made Louise shrug while her friend slid around her and came to rest on her shoulder. His tail end wound around her waist as usual.

"Mostly, yeah. He is a lazy butt and only moves for food."

The deity's eyebrows rose slightly. "Is that so?" She leaned in to observe Ryuki a little more closely, but the dragon did not react. The way Louise averted her eyes from the CPU's bust coaxed a smile out of her, though. At her age, the redhead took notice of it even though it was mostly hidden by purple robes.

"Um, my dancing lessons start soon," the teen mumbled and shifted in her seat, unwilling to ogle her ruler and afraid she might do it anyway. "Was there anything else you needed, my Lady?"

Purple Heart leaned back in thought, her eyes on the girl sitting in front of her. Then she smiled and stood, motioning for Louise to get up as well; her magic easily moved the furniture aside. "I believe your teacher will forgive you on this one occasion; I am curious, though. Would you care to dance with me for a bit?"

While Louise blinked in surprise, Purple Heart offered her hand to her with a benevolent smile. One that was soon returned, and her hand taken. "Of course, i-it's an honour!"

"Very well. You lead, then." Much to the deity's amusement, her demand produced wide eyes; Louise had not expected to be the one leading a CPU's steps even then. She gently squeezed the girl's hand. "No need to worry about me, I will follow whichever dance you feel like." Needless to say, Purple Heart knew and memorised the steps of basically every dance known around the world, both in the lead and when being led.

After standing stock still for a few moments, both due to the sudden turn of events and because she had to consider which dance she wanted, Louise slowly untangled Ryuki and placed him on the couch; the dragon merely flopped on his side and watched them.

They began slowly, Louise leading the much taller woman carefully; many years of practice prevented her from misstepping even while nervous, though the fact she was only merely above eye-level with the deity's... assets did make her step on Purple Heart's foot rather quickly.

While Louise blushed however, her ruler merely smiled encouragingly. "I am not going to scold you for being in puberty. This does pose a problem if it impairs your concentration, though." The goddess glowed brighter and shrunk, suddenly standing a little bit smaller than the teenager. They did not even stop moving, continuing the motions of their dance as Neptune offered her charge a grin. "Be glad I'm not Green Heart; she would have teased you mercilessly... and let you snuggle them."

She openly laughed when her partner turned a shade of scarlet that resembled her hair colour, but Louise did not make any further missteps even then. With the pressure of a divine presence lifted, the girl actually became more energetic and quickly caught herself to smile back. "You're a tease too, my Lady."

The purplette did not deny it, though she took over the lead for a few steps to maneuver the both of them around the room. "Yup yup, but just call me Neptune like this." She had quickly taken a liking to this child.

Louise had already begun to relax in the new atmosphere, but this had her eyes widen once again. The first denial died on her lips before she even began, though; it was a request from her Lady, even though she felt it somewhat inappropriate to call her by name. The fact they were dancing together notwithstanding, she barely knew Purple Heart after all. Yet the CPU asked this of her.

In the end, she grinned. "I can't really call you by name like that, so I'll say 'Lady Nep' instead." And going by the matching grin she got in return, it had been a good decision.

"Works for me."

Their dance grew faster at that point, Louise having decided to show off everything she learned over the years; Neptune easily matched her pace and cheerfully moved wherever or however she was expected to. They greatly enjoyed their time, though the conversation soon picked up again.

"Say, do you have any plans for when you've graduated yet?" Though the question was unexpected, it did not throw Louise off again. The redhead softly shook her head.

"Not yet. I'm thinking about getting a teaching license and teach dancing, but I'm not sure I'm good enough. Or that I actually want to do it." She often heard that turning what she loved into her profession would be good, but felt she would lose her appreciation for the dance if she ever made it her job.

"Mhm, I get that." Neptune had seen many like her before. Moreover, she already had her own plans; with Louise admitting that she had no clear goal, the purplette decided to put them into motion: "Did you ever consider joining the Guild?"

Louise's brow furrowed in thought as she directed her partner away from the couch that had come dangerously close. "I did, but I'm not sure if I'm cut out for hunting monsters."

Her response prompted a chuckle from Neptune; the CPU gently squeezed her shoulder. "You're quite flexible and a quick learner. I think you could make it far with some practice." She ignored how Louise's eyes widened under the praise, instead nodding her head toward Ryuki. "Not to mention that you have a legendary pet."

The redhead mulled that over for a short while and soon their dance came to an end; the two let go of each other and dropped curtsies as was proper after a good dance, though one could easily read Louise's thoughtful state from her face. "I need some time to think about it, and to talk to my parents."

Needless to say, Neptune already knew she would get what she wanted.

**. .**

**. .**

The ruler of Planeptune gave it a few weeks before engineering a meeting with her girl of interest. Meaning, she went on a stroll in her civilian form after confirming Louise's position. Cheerful greetings were exchanged, a dragon was pet, and the two of them returned to the important matter after some small talk.

"I thought about it a lot, actually," the teenager admitted a little shily. She had taken a seat next to Neptune on one of the benches, with Ryuki curled up in her lap. "And I think I want to give it a try, but my parents aren't so sure about it. It's dangerous after all... and it's still a bit over two years, you know? I'm not sure I still want to then."

"Ah, that's no problem!" The purplette grinned cheerfully. "Just ask them to let you take the exam for a special license, so you can take a crack at it in one or two months if you pass. If you make it, they let you try your hand at Guild-stuff. If not, that's that."

"Huh, that's a good point." Louise leaned back. "But I heard the exam is brutal; do you really think I can do it?" Due to her decision to watch the sky in thought, Louise completely missed the way Neptune's shoulders shook in suppressed laughter. She could not know that the exam's results were set from the start and neither could her parents.

"Then get to studying, you won't regret it." A lithe hand squeezed her shoulder and Louise turned her head to smile at her Lady. By herself, Neptune was looking forward to how far this one would go.


	57. Divine Interlude - Anger and Guilt

_Not all friendships are harmonious at the start. In some cases, they begin with pain and tears._

_And yet, if they hold... there will be nary a bond harder to break._

-Yvoire Simmons

* * *

Her mind in a half daze, Uni tried to recall what happened. She could hardly see the ceiling for some reason.

Slowly, the young Candidate's memory of the past hours returned. Her body failed to move on her command, though. It just ached faintly as fragments and pieces slowly came together.

Miss Neptune had come over to talk (play) with her big sister. And she brought Nepgear. Nepgear, something told the two-year-old, was important for what happened to her.

She remembered their sisters heading out for whatever, maybe to hunt Monsters. How long ago this had been, she did not know. Uni blinked, wondering why she could not feel her left arm while more of her previous actions resurfaced.

They had been playing some kind of game on Uni's console in the living room. Nepgear was her usual sweet and shy self, all of which managed to tick Uni off once again; she hated that part of the older girl, not believing it for even a moment. She figured long ago that if the purplette wanted to act like a doormat, she might as well treat her that way until she finally stopped and showed her how she really was.

Uni blinked again, her mind only slowly kicking back into gear. Her right hand moved, but it was strangely wet. So was her black shirt.

She recalled Nepgear picking out her phone-thing to look at something or other. Impulsively, Uni had taken and broken it to get a rise out of the older girl. Nepgear had burst into tears.

The words she said at that time eluded her, never to return. The next thing Uni clearly remembered was about a tiny fist flattening her nose and smashing her face into the wall.

Another blink, as she slowly turned her head. Another dull ache accompanied that movement, probably from the dozen or so times Nepgear had smashed her into the ground face first. Perhaps that was where the small crater in the reinforced steel around her came from.

She faintly remembered a myriad of sloppy punches impacting her form, from top to bottom; Nepgear was only a year older than her, but the difference in experience and growth showed at their age. Even with Uni's allegedly superior skills, the older Candidate had overpowered her with ease. Uni once again felt phantom pain, parts of her breaking that she did not even know could break. Were she human, nearly every bone in her tiny body would have been turned to powder by the end of it.

It was weird, she thought. For the beating she remembered getting, she felt surprisingly fine. Only a little more sore than after a training session with her big sister Noire.

Then the few seconds of idle time passed and her mind kicked into gear. All senses worked once again, reporting residue pain from near everywhere. Her left arm failed to move because something, no, _someone_ was lying on her.

When Uni stirred, a small head framed in purple jerked upward from the wet spot on her chest. Eyes wide open and brimming with tears, Nepgear's relief coursed through the room like a palpable force. "U-Uni! Y-You're okay! You're okay!"

That was all she managed before the tears spilled over; the purplette began to wail loudly and clutched Uni as if she might slip away any moment. "I'm sho shorry," was all she got out in-between sobs and hiccups, repeating herself over and over, her voice muffled by the torn cloth Uni wore.

It did not make sense.

But, what Uni realised now, she did not like to see Nepgear like that. As remnants of pain continued to float through her conciousness, Uni understood that she crossed a line today. A terrible line she never should have crossed.

And yet, even then, Nepgear apologised while weakly stroking her hurting arm with a fading glimmer of green light. That explained why she felt so well; the other girl spent an enormous amount of power to heal the worst of it.

It made no sense still. Nepgear was supposed to be angry, or smug, or resigned or whatever. Not cry as if she was the one who did something wrong. Uni _knew_ being mean was not the right thing to do, but she did it anyway. Nobody punished her for it thus far.

This, she realised, was karmic retribution. Her fault.

Yet Nepgear was the one apologising.

It was in these moments, returned from near-death and in a soggy embrace by the very girl she bullied for fun, that Uni began to believe. And to regret. She believed that this girl was as kind as she appeared. And she regretted that it took her so long to realise.

Slowly, her covered arm bucked and shifted, lifting the crying girl until she was lying fully on the younger Candidate; then Uni brought her free arm around to hug her properly, rubbing Nepgear's back in a clumsy attempt to soothe her. She had no idea what to do, but just letting her cry like this felt so, so wrong.

"It's okay. You did nothing wrong." She whispered the words in Nepgear's ear, her voice breaking still. She felt weaker than ever before, defeated not just physically, but mentally. Yet Nepgear did not have it, heavily shaking her head and making those pretty purple bangs fly. "N-No way! I-I-I almost k-k-" "And I deserved it."

Her words held an air of finality, shutting Nepgear up. Uni clutched onto her a little harder, tears of her own slowly fighting their way out. "I'm sorry. For everything." Pride had no place in this moment.

She did not say any more, but Nepgear could tell just these four words came from the depth of her heart. She snaked her own hands under Uni to hug her back. "It's okay, I f-forgive you."

"You are so kind." Uni could not help herself, she just let the tears out and thanked the heavens that she did not burn this bridge. That Nepgear was such a nice person despite what she did to her ever since she was born.

They quietly soothed each other for an amount of time neither of them could quantify. When the Candidates got up however, they realised that Nepgear's rampage had thrashed half of the living room, leaving no less than three craters in floor and walls. Many of Noire's craftings and paintings were splintered, broken beyond repair.

Uni just shushed her friend and carried her to her room, tucking her into bed. "You rest and I clean up, yes?" She shushed Nepgear again the moment she tried to talk back, until the purplette nodded shily and watched her leave.

Uni knew she looked horrible, and that she was in a whole lot of trouble once her big sister saw the mess. With that in mind, she quickly got to sorting out what to throw away and how to get the broken furniture repaired. She also knew she would tell their sisters that she started a playfight, and that they got carried away. No one would blame Nepgear for this, she would see to that.

This one was on her, all of it. It was high time she started to make amends.


	58. The Last Generation 1

_Mass sermons in the central plaza, just what is she thinking? I don't want to throw myself into the dirt before her every morning!_

-Tarian Citizen

* * *

Months passed in relative quiet; the loweean CPUs moved on, Nepgear and Uni were usually found together in either of their nations, and IF continued her work.

She had to admit that working with K-Sha was quite different from working with Steamax or RED, though. The sniper's daily troubles gave her a good insight into the woes of a ranged combatant.

For all her skill, K-Sha still merely had gunpowder at her disposal. Even planeptunian technology did not yet allow for miniaturisation and safety as necessary to wield energy firearms or plasma weapons into battle, unless one was a specifically shielded android. Or had enough physical strength to wield a railgun into battle, as Maker Bungie was well known for.

No, K-Sha had neither of those. She could take a monster's sight from a kilometre away with pinpoint accuracy, but it was really only those shots that had any effect on the larger ones at all. For anything bigger than a human, she had to go into melee as well; even with the cost of her ammunition carried by the government, she only carried a limited amount of it at any time.

It was baffling how far melee combat and magic outdid the guns on their effectiveness at their level. Firearms were marvelous for clearing out small fry, but almost completely ineffective against the large and tenacious beasts a Maker faced constantly. Bullets could not be reinforced with Awakening either.

That was why K-Sha doubled as a swordswoman and had practiced with Falcom in the past. She was quite good at it as well, though IF could tell how far the aptly titled Sword Goddess stood apart from her fellow Lastationite.

Either way, they got along just fine and worked well together. Be it K-Sha supporting her from afar or both of them being up close and personal with the enemy, their synergy developed a lot in these few months.

With RED and Falcom having a blast in Lastation, the CPUs had decided to make the switch indefinite after clearing it with K-Sha, though she only heard about it recently. IF was a little sad about that, as it meant she would not see the bubbly redhead again anytime soon; it also made her happy at the same time, seeing that she did like to work with K-Sha. They got along as both were quite aloof, though the older woman appeared to be more subdued than IF herself. Nicer as well, in a general sense.

As June arrived, IF got used to her new circumstances and had honed the control of her Awakening to new heights. She could still reach higher, though her current level of skill finally felt at least decent.

One particular day, Neptune had called her up to the very top of Planeptower. IF was used to visiting her ruler's office at this point, having been there on many occasions before.

Noting the time as she ascended a single flight of stairs, the young woman found that she was two minutes early. Thus, instead of entering immediately, she waited until the clock struck two first. The first words she heard were as expected: "You know you can just come in, Isa. Why do you wait out there?"

They had this particular discussion many times before as well; IF's response was the same as always: "I felt like it." In truth however, she did it to annoy Neptune at this point; after rightfully assuming that the CPU monitored the area right in front of her office, she decided to do it on purpose every time she was early.

Neptune rolled her eyes and waved her Maker over; Histoire merely offered her a friendly smile before returning to work, though IF knew the Tome merely had a lot to do. Nepgear was not around, the Candidate currently staying in Lastation. Her empty chair moved while IF walked, offering itself to her as a seat right next to the ruler's desk; she took it.

What immediately caught her attention was the open Disco application, combined with a group-chat of four members and a folder filled with pictures of baby animals. A glance to Neptune revealed the purplette to be grinning as she quickly made to upload a quarter of that whole folder before minimising both it and Disco. "Not what I was meaning to show you, but it's fun to bother Noire and Blanc with those. They always look through them even if they hate that I distract them from their work."

IF wisely kept her mouth shut, though she could not help but roll her eyes. Neptune's antics were nothing new at this point, even those she had not yet seen before.

Seeing that no response was given, the purplette grinned and pulled up a bird's eye view of the central mountain range separating the north of Planeptune from Lastation; it was vast enough to even reach into Lowee and remained partly unexplored to this day. Difficult terrain in combination with the constant threat of monsters made human research teams hesitant to approach the behemoth. The CPUs could and probably had explored the mountain range somewhat, but they did not share their findings with anyone.

The reason IF knew which mountain range she looked at was the picture's title.

"Here we have the biggest and baddest mountains on the continent. I don't need to tell you that we know basically nothing about what's on top." IF shook her head, that much was common knowledge; she was tempted to quip about the deities knowing more than anyone else, but bit down on it for now. Neptune continued gleefully: "So guess what, some of our new explorer drones from Laya found a new cave at the foot of the central mountain. They didn't manage to get much input from a remote location, but it's been confirmed that the cave opens into some large caverns and an entire system of tunnels."

IF was starting to wonder now; she would not put it past her friend to call her up just to go on about natural phenomena for a few minutes. Neptune had done that before. "And what's so special about those tunnels and caverns?" Going by how wide the CPU's grin became, she figured it was not a trivial matter.

"Our explorers, Isa, found non-natural structures in there." The brunette's eyes widened slightly as the implications became clear, though Neptune cheerfully laid them out anyway: "And once they had pictures, the historians checked. Then they double-checked with Histy there." She waved toward the Tome, who ignored her after a quick glance to confirm she was not needed. "And much to _everyone_'s surprise, our friendly fairy confirmed that those are tarian in origin."

IF winced at her tone and emphasis; it was well known that Histoire rarely confirmed anything about the past when asked, only volunteering information whenever they added to the peoples' safety. The knowledge to build vast mega-cities instead of spreading out the population, for example, was always freely given to prevent catastrophes.

"So I'm putting together a team to look into them. And you're going with them."

The young woman's thoughts ground to a screeching halt as Neptune's words registered; she was supposed to be on guard duty for an expedition into the mountains. Her confused look made the purplette giggle. "We spoke about it and decided you need a break. And seeing that you would just work anyway if we told you to take one, you're going on a trip instead."

Harsh, but IF could not deny it. She sighed nonetheless. "You could at least ask if I want to go, you know?"

"Nah, it's not like you have a choice in the first place." They stared at each other over that, though Neptune's grin never faltered. IF relented not long after, knowing not to argue that particular matter.

"Alright, fine. When is that team heading out?" As usual, her best option was to roll with it; at least exploration was an interesting prospect and a change of pace, so she could see some good sides on the matter.

Neptune ran through some different pictures as she explained: "Most preparations are already done, but it will still take a little bit; the set date is ten days from now, right after Summer Solstice." Which, in other words, meant that she would do this right after her first anniversary of being appointed as Maker. IF rolled her eyes at the most likely intentional choice.

**. .**

**. .**

An hour later, she had met up with Compa in one of their favourite cafes. Her friend listened with almost sparkling eyes and a serene smile as IF explained the matter and that she would be out of touch for a few weeks.

"This is so mean," the aspiring nurse finally told her with a mixture of pout and smile. "You get to actually see ruins of old Tari that nobody has seen in hundreds of years!"

"Right," IF answered slowly as memories of past conversations returned. "I forgot you're a history-nut." Now Compa's expression turned into a full pout, though it was mostly playful; IF paid it no mind. "Can you give me the rundown on Tari?"

Just like that, her friend returned to smiling. "Sure." She took a quick sip from her tea and thought. "Now where to start, ah!" IF faintly noted the fact some people at the surrounding tables were listening in, but did not see a reason to shoo them away. If the matter interested them, why bother?

"Okay, so, first thing is that Tari was a much older nation than Planeptune is right now." Compa held up two fingers. "From what research gathered, the Land of Blue Elegance lasted for over a thousand years, around twice as long as our nation exists. So far, all I read says that it fell about eight hundred years before the formation of Planeptune, putting the actual fall thirteen hundred years into the past."

Once again, the numbers were insane. IF knew it could take from a few years to a millennium for a new generation of CPUs to spawn after the last fell, but to have a period of twenty generations that would never even see divine silver light was a weird thing to imagine. She nodded nonetheless, making Compa continue.

"Next is that Tari was the only nation of its generation. Lady Blue Heart had no Candidate either, meaning she was the only CPU of her time and unified all of Gamindustri under her banner. Nobody knows what actually caused the nation's downfall, though. The best theory I saw was that a string of natural disasters hit them, but it does not explain the death of Blue Heart." Compa frowned weakly. "It's a mystery to this day, and the old accounts we found do not say anything about unusual occurences."

"Over a thousand years," IF mused. "I never thought anything but Sharicite could stand that long." She did not know anything about the downfall, but that point caught her interest.

Compa shrugged. "Tarian buildings are incredibly sturdy; they were built to last." That appeared to be it for her on that part, though IF wondered about the kind of materials the previous nation may have used; plasteel was a planeptunian creation and even she knew that Tari did not have an equivalent.

People continued to listen as Compa explained what she knew, so IF did the same and tried to commit as much as possible to memory.

**. .**

**. .**

The trip to Laya was uneventful, though IF did enjoy the view of the mountains she had from there. She did some sightseeing in the city, uncaring of the attention she gathered just by being present.

After some time, she noticed two familiar faces moving toward her. A stern man with dark pink hair and a gentle giant, both grinning once their eyes met; IF could not help but smile as well when she walked over to them. "Gabriel, André; what are you doing here?"

"Right now?" Her former team leader laughed and pointed at her. "Following the Chirper-explosion that's your presence in this city. You don't look to be in a hurry, so at least there's no monster horde coming." IF snorted, but nodded in agreement.

"Nothing like that, I'm not here to fight anything, at least not directly." She pointed at the looming mountains with her thumb. "I'm going that way starting tomorrow." Strangely, her old friends appeared baffled for a moment; when they exchanged glances, IF understood and sighed. "So are you, I guess?"

André nodded before laughing at the face she made. "I understand you were not informed of this either?"

Gabriel just clapped her shoulder, though. "Don't worry, it should be fine. At least my prayers were heard."

"What prayers?" Once she asked, her old team leader grinned at her.

"To work with someone competent again."


	59. The Last Generation 2

_Humans should not challenge or question their goddess. You will obey._

-Blue Heart

* * *

The first time IF met the researchers was in the evening, though that was mostly to clear the schedule. Everyone stayed respectful and kept their distance to not bother her, which she did not feel like correcting.

The first time the whole expedition met up, however, was the following morning. As usual, IF appeared at meeting point first; next were the scientists and archeologists moving up to Laya's gate with their bulky trucks. Regular trucks, she saw; hover technology was still quite inefficient on energy consumption and thus restricted to military affairs.

"Will you really be able to drive to the mountains?" She had to ask just in case, though she felt she could trust them.

The expedition leader whose name she already forgot offered her a winning smile. "Of course, Lady IF. We are bringing a handful of building drones along to create a path where the cars could not pass." He appeared quite content with the solution, though IF wondered.

Building drones were mainly used to flatten the terrain and create even fields, not to build anything. That was what construction drones were made for. "What if we come across a cliff?"

The man blinked at her and his eyes rose skyward as he thought. "Hm, cliffs. There aren't supposed to be any on our route, but if a monster rampaged that might... ah, yes; Planeptower gave us permission to install hover-modules in all vehicles." IF's eyebrows rose, though he did not seem to notice as he continued: "It was really quite the lucky development. We are only supposed to use them in emergencies, but that should trivialise any such problem we come across."

He went to explain further, but was cut off by a pair of minivans driving up; these two held Guild-insignia and one of them honked at them, revealing Gabriel next to the annoyed driver. IF just huffed and shook her head while nine Guild people stepped out of the two vehicles; five from one, four out of the other. The latter one consisted of her old teammates sans Alexis and two teenagers younger than herself. The former group was all new faces and styles, though.

"Let me guess," Gabriel started with a glance toward the scientist IF had been talking to before, "she was here first."

The man frowned a little, unsure what to make of it, but nodded. "That is correct."

In turn, Gabriel rolled his eyes and offered her a fist. "Some things really never change." IF snorted and bumped hers against his, much to the other group's and the teenagers' bafflement.

"You complaining hasn't changed either," she returned before greeting André the same way. Both men chuckled, but stopped when she continued: "Just so we're clear, I am not turning this into a paid vacation for you. Unless it's bigger than any of us or there are more than a dozen of it, I'm not going to interfere." Which led to some confused faces, though IF did not notice the indignation of some.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her over that, though. "Oh? Do I hear someone being bratty?" His grin made it clear he was joking. IF sighed.

"No, you hear someone being under orders not to take your work away. I just wanted to make that clear before someone starts to expect me to join against a bunch of Wolves or something like that." The men nodded understandingly and those around them began to be mostly confused by the scene.

Their conversation was interrupted by a cough, though. The expedition's leader motioned for the arrayed vehicles. "Perhaps you could continued this at a later time? We have a long journey ahead of us."

Both of them complied at that. Gabriel grinned at the young Maker winningly. "Unless you prefer to heroically ride on top of a truck, there's a free spot in our van." IF snorted and went with him.

**. .**

**. .**

It was a relaxing journey for all of three hours or so. A few handfuls of monsters appeared, but the agents took care of them without trouble. IF had time to watch the drones work, curious about the widespread fields that simply pushed the ground flat. She always thought they would burn the earth away.

When speaking to André about the matter, her old teammate explained that they used to, but technology marched on and now they no longer needed to burn away fertile soil whenever someone wanted to explore the wilderness.

IF's relaxing time ended about five minutes after the seventeen-year-old girl in Gabriel's group found the courage to talk to her. At first she was rather shy about it, but quickly warmed up to the Maker's presence and began to ask her question; how it was being a Maker, whether IF met the Lady before, the kind of questions she was used to by this point. She indulged her anyway.

With the next gaggle of Dogoos however...

"Okay." Gabriel's voice was carefully measured, though his disapproval was plain for all to hear. In front of him and the girl was a patch of scorched earth several metres wide, still steaming from the flames that had engulfed it. "Would you care to explain _why_ using that much juice sounded like a good idea? How often did I tell you that Dogoos are not worth the effort?"

Whether it was because he chewed her out in plain sight of everyone else or simply because she was used to it, his charge merely had her arms crossed and refused to meet his eyes.

Against the next lone Wolf that came, the circus repeated itself when the boy charged in; the defenders only barely managed to hold their fire.

IF had to admit that he was good with his scythe, but the novelty of it vanished after the third such occurence; on the fourth, he received a nasty peck by a Boxbird, then a slap with its paper wing, before André clubbed the monster away.

She did not want to discourage either of them, seeing that a Maker's words would be more devastating than getting chided by the men they already knew, but those incidents just kept happening. By the time they made camp for the night, a bit more than a third of the way there, she sat down next to her old teammates. "Bad day?"

"Really bad day," the grumbled response came. "At least Miranda got better recently, but now she's back to throwing as much juice as I have in total at Dogoos." IF nodded slowly; if she remembered correctly, her friend was already a little above average at around four hundred SP.

"How much does she have?"

"One seven, roughly." IF blinked at the prodigious amount, then remembered that they were talking about someone approved for a special license. She cast a glance over at where both teens had been given punishment duty, which entailed cleaning the synthesizers and doing the dishes in general. Neither of them seemed happy.

"Is it always that bad with them?" The leader of the other Guild team asked Gabriel, who threw the woman a suffering look.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't be complaining every other day. They were getting better, but now, for some reason..." His gaze fell on IF and he deflated. "Oh. Of course."

The brunette tilted her head slightly, unsure what he meant. "What?"

Understanding what he was going on about, the female agent began to laugh. "Ohahaha, seriously? You think they're trying to impress her?" And there it clicked for IF as well, the younger woman groaning as she leaned back. At least the fact there were four camp fires, half of their tents, and most of the team between them and the teens meant they were unlikely to be heard.

"Are you serious?" she could not help but ask as well; this was probably the last thing she needed here.

Gabriel just shrugged, though. "Beats me, but Miranda suddenly started being dumb right after meeting you. I'd say that's a strong indicator right there." He had a point and neither of those around them saw a reason to argue.

IF mulled it over for a long moment, absent-mindedly throwing a twig into the flames for the fun of it. "Should I talk to her?" She did not want to make life harder on her friends without at least trying to do something, but she also did not know that girl. They would know better.

This time however, it was André who snorted. "The general problem with both of them is that they are better than us and know it. That's why they both do things they think are best and ignore our advice; Miranda just started to understand that being better does not equal knowing better, but you know how it is." He winked at her. "Most kids that age don't like to admit they were wrong. Give her another day before kicking her ass about it."

His phrasing drew a snort out of IF, but she also nodded her agreement. "Okay, fair."

Some of the others laughed as well and the other team leader clapped her shoulder. "I'll admit, I imagined you to be a little different. You're a good kid, _Lady_ IF." The brunette's raised eyebrow only brought another laugh out of her. "Anyway, now I can tell my son that I've been on a mission with you. He will love that."

She received a slow nod from IF, the younger woman unsure what to make of the new information. Thankfully, one of the other Guild agents came to her rescue: "Don't ask, she starts talking about him at the slightest prod and just won't stop."

"Come on, I'm not that bad."

"Of course you are, it's been like that since he was born!"

And on they went with their bickering; IF slowly shook her head while others snickered at the sight. She could not help but smile as well, though.

"Anyway, how is Nepgear doing?" Gabriel's question garnered her attention and made IF consider what to tell them.

They were around many unaware people, meaning she had to be careful. It had been a while since they last spoke, so they were probably out of the loop. "She is going at life with a lot more vigor than back in the day. Why don't you call her yourselves from time to time, anyway?"

Both men shrugged at that. André got to answer her first: "She's busy and I don't want to bother her." Gabriel just pointed to his companion, indicating that he had similar thoughts.

Their reasoning made IF roll her eyes. "She can spare five minutes to talk to old friends. Trust me, it's not that pressing. Anyway, she started dating a girl from Lastation a few months back." Starting with the biggest news first, IF knew she had their full attention with that. Though they might not yet have gotten the meaning behind her phrasing, so she repeated herself: "A girl from Lastation."

"Ah."

"Oh."

There it was; they both appeared surprised about the revelation, but also quite happy to hear it. "That's good news," André noted with a smile. "And surprising, to be honest. She never really appeared like the dating kind."

"Pretty much," IF agreed with a grin. "Except that they were after each other for years and it just took them that long to get there." Her comment brought a chuckle out of Gabriel.

"So the same girl she was dancing with last year?"

André's question gave IF pause; she completely forgot she watched the CPUs dance. In fact, Day of Unity was approaching once again and she had not even noticed how fast time passed. The young woman nodded slowly. "Yeah; they make quite the cute couple, unless Nep decides to tease them to the Graveyard and back."

"Well, now I need to call her either way," Gabriel told them with a grin. "I went and gave RED a call after hearing she got herself a girl, so Nepgear won't be spared either." IF snorted at that.

"Remind me not to let you know if I ever find a boyfriend. Or girlfriend, at that." She actually grinned back at her old friend, who merely winked at her.

"Not a chance, young lady. I will know, sooner or later."

They all laughed at that, the fire warming them in the falling night; their conversation would last for a while as the old teammates caught up with each other.

**. .**

**. .**

The next day started early... for most. By the time Gabriel and André left the communal tent together with one female member of the second Guild team, IF was already outside and currently busy jogging around the camp; it was not her usual route, but it would have to do.

A pair of Dogoos that curiously hopped closer was engulfed by a small gout of flame as she passed by again while the agents watched; the woman turned a searching look toward Gabriel, who shrugged. "First time I actually see it, but that's apparently normal for her. How long have you been up?" he asked the young Maker right after.

IF slowed down and came to stand; she was only clad in her shorts and shirt, the coat waiting for her inside. She shrugged weakly. "Since around six? Good morning, guys."

A series of "'Morning'"'s answered her immediately after, though only André appeared to actually have a _good_ morning. The other two much rather would have slept another two hours.

IF paid them no mind and flicked herself onto her hands in one fluid motion, pushing her feet up in the air as straight as one could. Brown hair covered her face, but was ultimately too short to reach the ground despite being unbound. "So, how long do I have until breakfast?"

Her question prompted shrugs she did not see, though the lack of a verbal response told her as much. She was left to her own devices after that, though some of the agents snuck glances at her exercises once in a while.

By the time the research team had arisen from their slumber and food was served, IF was drenched in sweat and ultimately content. She ate with gusto, though nobody wondered where all of it went; everyone had seen her rigorous training regimen at least once.

One woman from the research team asked her about a related matter, though: "Say, Lady IF, why is it that you practice so much and so easily? My boyfriend never works out longer than half an hour and he is always winded afterward." Though most did not appear obviously interested in the answer, everyone was listening curiously.

IF shrugged in turn and finished chewing a bite, then paused her meal to answer. "I got used to it and I can't afford getting rusty." She shrugged before going back to eating.

At the side, Gabriel gave his charges a nudge and motioned for the young Maker. "And that, kids," he told them quietly, "is why she is where she is." Both boy and girl would need some time to truly understand what he meant.

Once everyone had eaten and the camp guards been shifted so those on duty could also sate their hunger, everyone got going. As this was a planeptunian expedition, sensor arrays had removed the need to post anything beyond a single guard at night; yet they were in luck and nothing had interrupted them this time. Luck which, unfortunately, was not to hold much longer.

By noon, howls could be heard in the distance. All vehicles immediately stopped on the slightly uneven terrain and the agents filed out of their cars to survey the situation; IF followed them, but stayed behind for the time being. The howls got louder and more numerous.

"Great, that's at least two whole packs." Gabriel muttered under his breath and went to discuss with his fellow team leader; nine agents in total were not enough to cover all angles, which meant they had to improvise.

"All mages, on the trucks." "Try to keep them from breaking through!" Their joint order was followed and three agents quickly climbed onto the larger vehicles. Moments later, the scientists left the same with resigned expressions; most of them carried metal handles that everyone knew were beamsabers, but one man and two women actually wore more 'proper' weapons.

"We take care of any stragglers," the expedition's leader told them with a grin. "Just make sure you don't let too many through." As he spoke, two of his underlings joined the mages already on top of the centermost truck.

The Wolves broke out of the underbrush before Gabriel could respond, half a dozen being felled by the immediate response. IF quickly climbed onto the truck as well to see if she would be needed anywhere, but found that everyone had the matter in hand at first. Though the fact this pack had only Wolves confused her a little.

It was true that most monsters tended to prefer the company of their own kind, naturally staying together if they met in the wilds, but they rarely minded other species joining them. Few groups were truly homogenous like that.

At that point, IF spied it by chance. The very trees of a near forest were rustling, the same direction this pack had come from. Her eyes widened and she moved, barely done strapping on her katars.

**. .**

**. .**

As before, Gabriel's problem child had jumped right at a pair of Wolves and beheaded them; it was easy with his handling of the scythe, despite the fact this weapon was generally difficult to use in battle. He made it work through both nimble movements and great strength.

As he turned to the rustling ahead however, not a Wolf came at him next. It was of the same type, covered in purplish blue fur and obviously a canine, but as tall and long as one of the trucks they traveled with. The Fenrir's red eyes were locked on the boy, its fast approach deathly quiet for a beast of its size; only a moment passed until it broke out of the treeline a few dozen metres ahead, to shouts from behind him.

He managed to take two steps back before the beast reached; half a second more and he would have been either crushed by the charge or swiped away. Were it not for IF to crash into it at ludicrous speed; she was tiny in comparison, throwing her own weight and momentum against the monster's charge. And she won.

The Fenrir was thrown back, its charge broken. IF herself took position in front of the young man she just saved. "Get back to the rest," she told him curtly before focussing on her opponent. A few Wolves tried to encircle the Maker, but were held back by flames and light and ice and wind, courtesy of the mages.

Despite the fact they were busy with their own monsters to fight, near everyone kept an eye on the standoff between IF and the pack leader; monsters usually stayed homogenous when a much larger variant of one species took the lead, often intimidating other species away. This Fenrir, vicious as it looked, carefully eyed IF and scraped arm-long claws across the dirt.

The Maker, in turn, stayed where she was; her back was hunched the slightest bit, muscles tense as she waited for her opponent to approach; both katars formed a defensive front, though that was not their intention.

Ultimately, the urge to kill all humans won over the desire to end the fight. The Fenrir charged first, assured in its victory. It would not have changed much even if the creature had been more cautious. IF once more activated her Awakening and hopped to the side, even the large maw's quick turn not being enough to still catch her. One hand clamped down on her enemy's fur and held on as all the force wound into IF's frame was turned into a single, full-bodied slash.

The reinforced and Awakening-boosted katar hit home, sliding into her opponent's neck in a single fluid motion. Then the blue-tinged shroud exploded outward where steel could not reach, completely bisecting the monster's head.

Its body fell forward due to the momentum already gathered, stumbling over the severed head before dispersing in an explosion of silvery particles. IF allowed herself a sigh and carefully observed the surroundings for a potential friend of that Fenrir, but none appeared; her allies were still fighting the remaining Wolves as well, though she could already see several being injured.

The young Maker quickly drew her sidearm and opened fire to assist them, eight bullets killing four Wolves with two shots each. With the mages starting another attack run and everyone else focussed, the attackers' numerical advantage finally ceased.

Once humans outnumbered monsters, mopping up the rest became nearly trivial. Instead of joining them, IF hurried over to the injured and saw to the lighter injuries; she still lacked an actual medical license, but those were only required to treat broken bones and similarly bothersome things. Any flesh wounds could be treated by basically anyone with healing powers.

"Well, good thing we have you here," Gabriel told IF with a grin as he wandered over, sheathing his sword. "No casualties and almost all injuries treated before the fight is even over, despite the Fenrir. I'll say that fight was not as impressive as people make it sound, though." When IF threw him a curious look, the older man elaborated while punching his fist in his flat palm: "I mean, they always tell us those are epic battles; from what it looked like, you just did the same thing you'd do with a normal Wolf. Five seconds tops, done."

He had a point there; then again, he also did not notice the whole matter. The brunette finished with her current patient and found the remaining two already seen to by other mages, so she let off. "It's not as easy as it looks; I'm pretty sure the only one beside me who can hit them this precisely is Falcom; most others don't have the right weapons to aim for the neck like I do, either, so they need longer. The big ones are also faster than the smaller monsters, at least most of them." Ancient Dragons were quite a bit slower, but they really did not need speed with their bulk and sturdiness.

Gabriel grinned at that and clapped her shoulder. "Makes sense. So it's just you who makes it look easy?" He laughed when IF rolled her eyes.

The adrenaline slowly faded from all of their bloodstreams, though the fact everyone was still alive after such a fierce attack created a certain kind of camaraderie between the different teams and professions.

It was decided that they would take a short break to catch their breath and see to their weapons; fifteen minutes later, everyone returned to the cars and their journey to the now looming mountains continued.

They did not reach their destination before nightfall, which meant that camp was made once more; at this point however, everyone could see the mountains even under the full moon's glow; they blotted out between a fourth and a third of the visible sky, a silent behemoth that held the answers they sought.

Once IF actually considered the scale at which this area stood, she began to feel the slightest bit intimidated by the task at hand. "It's impressive," she told Gabriel and André that evening as they ate. "This place is big enough to fill a third of Paneptune, but they still found those ruins despite having basically no coverage of it."

Gabriel nodded at her, busy eating as he was. André had an understanding grin to offer instead. "Sometimes, you just need a little bit of luck. Our scientists aren't going as fast as they probably could, but I heard that most of the mountain's foot is actually mapped. It was there, so this had to happen eventually."

IF nodded understandingly and turned to look at the mountains. "I see." They sat quietly, hiding away all that they knew. "What do you think we will find?"

The men both shrugged at first, making it clear that such questions may better be left to the people who worked in the field. Gabriel took another bite from his pizza and mulled her question over for the few seconds it took to chew and swallow. "Hard to say; a few ruins at least, but I heard people talking that the lost capital is supposed to have been around these parts. Who knows, maybe we stumble over that?"

The other two took to the news with little enthusiasm; though all of them were curious about old Tari, none of them had chosen archeology as their field for a reason. Nonetheless, all of them would agree that finding the seat of the preceeding nation's ruler, Blue Heart, would be a great success.

**. .**

**. .**

Their luck for the night held, requiring only a single guard and no interruptions to anyone's sleep. In difference to the previous day however, everyone was in high spirits and they got back on the way much earlier.

An hour and a few small monster groups later, the expedition reached the mountain's foot.

IF had to admit that the sight was familiar yet overall different; stone practically grew out of the ground in a friendly slope that quickly turned almost vertically for a few dozen metres, continuing almost until the horizon. Much of the veritable wall was overgrown by various plants and she could even see a few nests where birds made their home in the vegetation.

There were some Dogoos hopping around the higher levels even here, but no visible threats; the mountains continued to grow into the sky at various angles, hiding whatever may lie behind or beneath their stony front.

And several dozen metres off the straight path the expedition had been taking was a hole opening into a cave, large enough for all of their vehicles to fit through.

They had arrived at their destination.

It took little time to flatten the ground and adjust the path they were taking, but no further complications stopped them. Before the clock struck ten, the expedition had fit all vehicles into the first larger cavern; all kinds of machinery were brought out of the trucks while Guild agents placed remote-controlled turrets on the six entrances.

IF watched the proceedings as she patrolled from one tunnel to the other, making sure no monsters made it into their temporary headquarters before the defenses were up. The command console for those turrets would be sitting in the center of this cavern.

Light sources and terminals were put up around her and several small generators had been put together already to provide the power for their endeavors.

When IF passed by the darkest tunnel, courtesy of being furthest from the opening to the outside, she heard a wet sound that was characteristic for Dogoos. Her eyes narrowed and she took a careful step back, then searched the ground with her flashlight.

The beam only covered the retreating form of a single slime however, dark grey instead of the usual bright blue. That and the fact it actually fled gave IF pause, long enough for it to pass around the next corner; she considered following it, but decided against splitting off from her group.

Instead, she walked over to Gabriel; he quickly finished setting up a turret at the next nearest tunnel and turned his attention to her, then cursed when she told him: "Just found a Metal Dogoo over there. It retreated deeper inside."

Metal Dogoos were a subspecies and incredibly rare. This was the first IF herself had ever seen; they were supposed to be nimble and fast, overall being a lot more dangerous than most Dogoos. Also more cowardly as long as they were not fused into a Giant version, which made exterminating them difficult because they tended to flee.

"Wow, great." Gabriel sighed and shook his head. "Because of course that's the first thing we find in here. Thanks for telling me, I pass that on once we're done setting up shop."

IF left him to his own devices and returned to her patrol, finding nothing of interest. She swept over a few hand-sized Pixelvaders with fire, uncaring for the fact this was the first time she ever saw any; this particular type rarely left the caves and other dark places of the world. They were mostly ambush predators, though not by choice; without knowing they were in the area, most people tended to overlook them due to their size.

Noon and most of the afternoon passed before everything was set up, though the amount of material to unload made it clear no one had been idle. Most of the walls were no longer visible as various instruments and screens had been put in place, point defenses and plasteel-stoppers had been installed at every entrance to their cavern, and one corner had actually been given a proper floor and bunks for the entire team.

The remainder of the day was spent with the Guild agents scouting the nearby tunnels in groups of three and the archeologists setting up their equipment properly. IF went around the stony pathways with her flashlight, half as fast as anyone else but one of two who did not get slapped in the back by a stray Pixelvader. Their dark green complexion made finding them difficult in the surrounding darkness.

"They are weird," she heard the girl -Miranda- complain later; the fact she was lounging on her side instead of sitting normally implied where she had been tackled. "I mean come on, those things look like someone made them in lower resolution than the rest of the world!" She was not wrong either, as Pixelvaders had been given their name for a reason; they appeared like a set of similarly coloured blocks put together into a blob-shaped form, with a bent stick figure's arms and legs.

In exchange for their small stature though, Pixelvaders were far less dangerous than most monsters. Even a good tackle from them would merely leave bruises. Being caught by a whole group of them however, IF knew, could quickly become a painful and potentially deadly experience.

Once she had wandered off to do her weapon maintenance in peace however, Miranda motioned at the young Maker with a curious look to her older teammates. "How long have you known her?"

The men followed her pointing and André took to answering: "Since she was sixteen. Has it really only been three years?"

"Almost four," Gabriel added. "Her twentieth is in a few months. Not that it will change anything, she has been like that since back then." He paused and threw another glance toward IF on the other side of the cavern. "Used to smile less, though." André chuckled, but their younger companions found nothing funny in the statement.

Like that, the evening soon came to an end and near everyone turned in for the night. In difference to before, there were now two agents on watch just in case. Aside from the occasional Pixelvader however, everything remained quiet.

The next day would bring new experiences.


	60. The Last Generation 3

_Perhaps you should have learned from what happened to the north that is now in truly eternal winter. But if you insist, then it shall be bordered by an endless desert in the south._

-Blue Heart

* * *

The first few days went with little trouble; IF joined the Guild agents while scouring the adjacent tunnels, slowly mapping the surrounding area with help of the scientists left in the main cavern. They encountered few monsters as most retreated from their advance, mainly Pixelvaders.

Nonetheless, basically everyone got a few bruises from ambushes, even IF had one slam into her calf in a moment of distraction. The bruise was managable, though it stung for hours; she ignored it while on patrol, bringing back little bits of culture that she found from time to time. Everyone did.

There were indeed Tarian ruins nearby, just a few dozen metres from their main camp; attempts to relocate the latter were shot down however, as a cursory check revealed that even the heavy and sturdy architecture could not counteract more than a millennium of decay. Most buildings they found were brittle at best, some already broken down; curiously, some even appeared to be broken off by the cave's ceiling.

Parts of those same buildings were continuously found in the surrounding tunnels, though IF once came by what looked like a doll; it had been wrapped in plastic and was probably brand new, but now barely recognisable. The find was quickly added to the plethora of bits and pieces they gathered on patrols and sweeps.

On the fourth day however, IF once again saw the Metal Dogoo after it had made a fool of several other teams several times. It saw her as well, but this time she was faster and rushed after it; other teams were nearby and the area explored, so she reasoned she would not get lost.

Her first gout of flame fell short of the monster; somehow, the metal variation managed to slide on their gelatinous mass instead of having to hop, allowing for much faster movement speeds. IF quickly caught up and encased it in ice, though; her target slid a little further, then came to a stop before she broke it with a hard kick.

"Okay, that's done." IF sighed and turned on her radio. "IF here, I just found that Metal Dogoo. It's gone, but I can't tell if it was the only one." She figured she should rather be careful about this; the others confirmed the message, but no one reported the sighting of another such creature.

A minute later, at the edge of their explored area, IF found a pair of Delinquent Cats; felines walking on two legs, as big as a child and with daggers in their paws. These types were common for caves, though they could be encountered in the open as well; IF recalled that they were seen more often in Lastation.

Slitted eyes beheld her as she charged them, then the creatures turned to flee into a yet unexplored tunnel. IF followed for as long as she found no second path splitting off, but there was none for a long while. It was almost eerie, as the first two Cats startled a handful of others she had to catch and eviscerate, all of them fleeing instead of fighting like most monsters did.

As she neared the last of the bunch however, IF saw the tunnel opening in front of herself; instead of becoming smaller like some places she saw monsters escape through before, this one seemed to open into another cavern. More importantly however, there was faint light shining from the inside.

IF frowned and pulled her pistol, then placed a bullet in her target's head. It died without seeing what hit her, the noise of her gun going off almost deafening as it echoed all around her; she thanked her ear protection and put the weapon back into its holster on her leg, then stepped forward to check the cavern.

What stood before her was grand, not just a few buildings but an entire city. IF's eyes widened at the fact this cavern reached far into the distance, illuminated by indirect sunlight falling in from the partly open ceiling. It was barely enough to see properly, a dim light cast on the corpse of what was once a Tarian city.

Most buildings were just two or three stories high, making it so that IF's vantage point lay above them; she saw some plateaus one could use to leap to ground level and the air was mostly fresh. Monsters roamed the streets alone or in pairs, but there was nothing large she could see.

When she took another step inside however, a rumbling noise made the young woman's head dart around; it only took a moment for her to realise it came from behind and as she turned, the tunnel behind her began to collapse.

Perhaps IF would have managed to dart through the falling rubble in time, but she did not dare try due to the risk of it. A cloud of dust quickly covered the tunnel and actually reached her, but IF blew it away with a gust of wind. She took a deep breath to calm herself, waiting for the remainder of the cloud to settle.

It became clear that she was in trouble once she beheld the rubble blockading her way back.

"Great."

IF continued to mutter under her breath as she slowly approached the barrier, carefully pulling a single stone the size of her hand out of the mess. Several more stones immediately rolled down to fill the gap, with more following from up top. Clearing this away was obviously not an option.

After looking around to make sure she was alone, the young woman turned around and sat down with her back against a larger boulder. She tapped her communicator and then put it to her ear. "IF speaking, can anyone hear me?"

She feared that the signal would end up being warped by the distance and solid walls in-between her and everyone else, but this was thankfully not the case. Someone quickly answered her: "We hear you here at camp. Is something the matter?"

"Kind of?" IF began to feel a little embarassed by this point, even though she knew this one was not on her. "I got cut off by a cave-in; I'm fine," she immediately cut off any concerned questions, "and I could maybe dig myself out, but that might collapse the ceiling. Oh, and I found the city proper."

Silence answered her for long moments, then what was obviously Gabriel began to chuckle right into his own communicator. The scientists muttered something unintelligble.

"Okay," a woman continued a little later. "So you were cut off from us after finding a full Tarian city? Did you check for any tunnels branching off from your position?" IF confirmed that and that she did not move far from her own entry point yet, which gave the woman a moment to think. "I see. Can you describe which way you went, so that we can take a look at that cave-in?"

"Sure, give me a moment to think." IF took another careful look at her surroundings and closed her eyes afterward; it helped her recall which directions she took.

One description later, she had to sweep a duo of Pixelvaders aside that thought it could sneak up on her; both died in the crackling flames, but IF knew she could not play it safe like this for long. Her efficiency was too low and too many monsters might be around.

"Okay, we will take a look at it from the other side. Please don't do anything rash until we can confirm it won't bring down the ceiling." She rolled her eyes because this was what she had been planning to do anyway, but agreed.

Then Gabriel spoke up with an audible grin: "Why is it that these things keep happening to you?" He was obviously making a play at the fact they had a CPU Candidate in their old team, as well as other such matters. IF only sighed.

"That's normally because a higher power engineered it." She left it at that and looked around. "I will see if I can find another way out. Call me if something happens."

Then she turned her communicator off and stood. Her coat was somewhat dusty from the ground, but she could wipe most of it away quite easily. IF took one last look around and got moving; she had water and rations for a few days with her, so that was fine. Her careful preparations had most likely become a lifesaver.

IF hopped down from her vantage point once she entered the humongous cavern, engaging her Awakening in short burts to ensure she did not hurt herself from the metres-deep drops. The power of her soul had become quite handy over the past year, allowing for superhuman feats at barely any strain for as long as she did it right.

Half a minute after her descent began, it had already ended. IF casually bisected another Pixelvader and got going. She could guess that her friends were worried, though the young woman did not imagine the general anxiety back at camp; everyone was nearly falling over each other as they discussed what to do, both because of the preserved city she stumbled over and due to the fact a Maker was lost.

While Gabriel and André ran herd on them, IF's tranquil walk began. She attempted to follow the old city wall's length, but soon had to enter the city proper.

What few monsters she saw were weak and easily killed if they attacked; her steps echoed somewhat while she wandered into the area. Empty buildings stared at her with empty windows, the glass itself having failed to withstand the test of time. She could see cracked fronts everywhere, whole stones being more rare than broken ones. Plants were growing in places, though most would probably be where more light fell.

It took her half an hour before she realised that her radio had lost its signal. The silence was thankfully broken by quiet noises here and there, taking at least a bit of this city's eeriness away; it still weighed on IF to walk amidst those ruins once her initial curiousity was sated.

Wherever she went held the same sight; old buildings sitting in the twilight and occupied by no one. Where sunlight fell into the cavern however, the stone it hit shone a faint blue; IF took note of that and pondered how it might work. It was a futile endeavor, but at least a distraction from the vastness.

She had never realised just how big a city was. Without any people around, its true size became apparent.

Imagining the scenes she knew from home was not even difficult; there was a street corner where a gaggle of students would say their goodbyes and go home, in another spot was a convenience store that people would come in and out of.

Faint rays of light fell onto the empty streets from where the mountain opened up top, as if the sun were only breaking through a few openings in thick clouds; despite it all, the sight was breathtaking without much of a skyline to take away from it. IF actually stopped to watch it for a few long moments.

She was the first human to set foot into this place in more than a thousand years. It had existed long before the goddesses she knew were even born.

Barely any monsters crossed her path, the absence of noise making her wonder how many there were; perhaps the fact this place lay abandoned made them leave for elsewhere sooner or later, she reasoned. This was naturally nonsensical, yet IF never even considered the alternative.

As she wandered, the young woman began to feel the barest bit of pressure on herself; familiar yet indescribable. She felt as if something was there in this empty realm, but reasoned the feeling away; nothing but monsters and animals.

Or rather, no animals. She had not seen anything, no bats taking flight as she passed, no insects or arachnids scurrying around, not even bugs of any kind. They encountered a cave bear a few days earlier, but the creature quickly fled when confronted with IF's Awakening.

This, here, was empty. Plants grew in various places, though inhibited by the scarce amount of light; once IF stood almost beneath one of the openings in the ceiling and considered whether to jump out, she also found the surrounding streets eroded into a basin. Stale water sat in it, having had no way to escape the only slowly breaking concrete in many years. IF knew better than to drink from it, though she took note of the few plants having grown nearby. Some grass and weeds, but also a handful of flowers.

Civilisation crumbled around her, and nature was willing to wait endlessly to reclaim what was once taken from it.

More than anything, IF did not feel well in treading here. She felt like she was disturbing a gravesite, and would have been much happier if she never stumbled on this place. A few buildings were one thing, but this whole city made her uneasy; as much as the rest of her expedition would shun the thought, walking these streets felt wrong.

Some time later, perhaps an hour going by the shifting sunlight, she found a skull lying on the street. A single one, half turned to dust already and staring at her from a single eyehole.

IF shuddered and averted her gaze, quickly wandering on with the sense of wrongness only reinforced; she could not tell what made it happen, but people died down here. Potentially everyone who lived in this city.

The scenery did not change much and so her careful observation of long since faded signs and broken facades turned into pondering in time; she wondered just what kind of catastrophe would do such a thing. Monsters, the first cause she thought of, were already impossible, seeing that the city was too well-preserved. If a horde had rampaged through it, the buildings would be broken and streets torn open.

Then however, IF recalled Compa's lecture; Tarian buildings were much more durable than most, they would not break as easily.

Looking around once more, she truly took note of all the cracks in the facades. This time, IF became aware of the fact they were everywhere, in every building, even running through the ground. Something violent _did_ happen to this city, yet the devastation was more or less evenly spread. It was the same intensity in the cracks wherever she looked.

Except that she was almost sure they had been less frequent at the outskirts.

In this moment, IF's curiousity truly woke and she considered her position; a few quick leaps brought her on top of a dangerously crumbly house. A quick orientation told her that the path she took led closer to the city center. And from where she stood, she could see what may have been Tari's Basilicom in the distance, surrounded by an area of empty ground; a round building hundreds of metres wide, but whose singular tower broke off after a few metres.

She considered the distant walls, but reluctantly decided against going back; even if there was an opening somewhere, she wanted to find out what happened. Her senses told her _something_, yet she could not make anything of it. It was too quiet, too unusual, too empty.

So instead of returning to search for a way out, IF continued on her way toward the city's center. She wanted to see whether there were any hints as to what ended Tari.

It took her another two hours despite the fact she could clear most rubble from the few buildings that broke down easily. Just like with any other gamindustrian city, traversing this one on foot took a long time due to its vastness. IF knew she still made good time, but she was a Maker in top condition and what she called a quick gait would be called running by most.

Then however, she stood in front of the old Basilicom. It's gates were gone and the feeling she noticed before was now palpable; a heavy weight in her gut and the instinctive desire to flee, but also something else.

Despite just standing in front of the building, IF knew something was wrong. She considered to turn around and leave for a long moment, to give in to her instincts.

Then she quelled them; had she ever listened, she would never stand where she stood now. Moreover, IF had yet to encounter anything to truly warrant such fear in her life and never would, as few beings were to command it. To a normal human, the pressure would have been much more severe.

She took a deep breath and readied her flashlight before walking forward, one step at a time until she stood before the vast entrance; empty and dark as it was, she felt as if she stepped into a behemoth's toothless maw. Yet when she went inside, nothing happened.

All that the focussed beam of light revealed was dust and rusted machinery, as well as broken furniture. The ground produced cracking noises with every step IF made, splinters of what once might have been close to plasteel crumbling under her boots and turning to dust. Most colours the place might have once held were long gone, faded away with time.

Her exploration was slow and more or less methodical as she went through the side rooms first instead of walking further inside; aside from being intimidated by whatever may lie at the center, IF needed time to come to terms with her most jarring realisation.

When Planeptune were to fall in the distant future, this may be what Planeptower might end up looking like to the nations that came after. Empty, broken, crumbling, and dead.

IF slowly made her way through the various rooms and began to get used to the oppressive feeling; once she had confirmed there was likely nothing near the entrance, she turned toward the building's center. Only a normal corridor led there, despite the fact this building could have been built like a vast dome; it appeared as if the space had been used more efficiently, much in difference to Planeptower's main lobby.

It only took a minute of traversing the darkness, the cracking floor and IF's more or less calm breathing being her only source of noise. Then she reached the entrance to a larger chamber, though vines had grown completely over it.

The plants were thick and hard to push aside even for her, thus the young woman raised one katar and flashed her Awakening for a single swing. Then another, and then a third as the obstruction revealed itself to have multiple layers of vines.

Once the last parts of the curtain fell however, light shone at IF; she had to blink a few times as her eyes got used to the brightness while the feeling in her gut intensified yet again. She stopped in place, arm falling to her side as she beheld what lay within.

A meadow grew out of broken plasteel, various flowerbeds having mixed together to form a sea of colours throughout the entire room.

None touched the center, though. For in that center sat a figure, female and slender; she was clothed in a light dress of black with blue embroidery.

IF wanted to call out, but words failed her. She could see the woman's partly uncovered back, and a pair of silvery stubs where her shoulder blades would be. Her senses tingled, telling her once more that she was in the presence of one that was not human.

Before she could really process what this meant however, the figure perked up and turned around.


	61. The Last Generation 4

_Tari has fallen, the Lady is dead. We are free. But what did it cost, friends?_

-Survivor of the fall

* * *

IF stood frozen, her limbs unwilling to move as light blue eyes wandered over her curiously; now that the woman's attention lay on her, there was no longer any doubt. Even without the instinctive knowledge that she stood before one greater than herself, IF could see it in the flawless skin and silky white hair with a tinge of blue; she saw beauty that only few matched.

"You're... a CPU."

The words left IF's mouth involuntarily, making the light crease of _her_ brow grow more visible. IF's eyes began to widen further as realisation set in, almost popping out of their sockets. She had met the whole pantheon save for Green Heart and this was not her, could not be. A CPU this deep within the ruins _could_ only mean one thing, except that it was too fantastic to be true.

"I am," the deity answered with a softly sad smile. The wrinkles on her forehead fell away as she schooled her expression somewhat, then the woman stood; she needed several seconds to get to her feet and began to sway dangerously for a moment, but caught herself before addressing the dumbstruck human again: "What brings you to this place? You are the first visitor I ever had."

Her voice was quiet and subdued, nothing like any of the other deities IF met so far; she kept her hands folded in front of her, the dress gently covering a slender frame.

"I..." IF began before trailing off. She could still hardly speak with a goddess right in front of her, the force of her presence even greater than any of the others without active HDD. She swallowed and took a deep breath, then tried again: "I'm on an expedition. We, uh, came here to find out more about Tari and its history." The CPU flinched at hearing the nation's name, then blinked rapidly for a moment. IF paused and waited, but there were no questions, so she continued.

"I'm technically not part of the actual expedition, I'm with the escort team. Then I got cut off from everyone by a cave-in and found this city." She could have explained many things, but did not know how the old goddess before her would have taken them. She had many questions as well and could not stop herself from asking the most pressing one: "What happened here?"

The deity had listened to her short explanation, but now she averted her gaze. Then she asked a question in turn: "Where do you hail from?"

Calling her out on it was tempting, but IF had begun to get a hold of herself at this point. She would likely get her answers in time; for now, indulging this woman felt like the best course of action. "That may take a bit."

She received a weak smile and a quiet surge of power, then two flat stone slabs rose from the ground; her new acquaintance smoothed down her dress and took a seat, motioning for IF to take the other one, which she did; once both of them were comfortable, as well as one could be while sitting on stone, the human woman began to explain.

"I hail from the nation of Planeptune." She could see the blunette's eyes begin to widen and took her smile as something positive. "We live under Lady Purple Heart, Neptune, as well as her Candidate Lady Purple Sister; the nation was founded five hundred and fourteen years ago, together with three others. Lady Purple Heart rules with a hands-off approach, having her citizens mainly solve their problems themselves and only interfering where necessary. Planeptune is the most technologically advanced of the four, nicknamed as the Land of Purple Progress."

IF leaned back slightly and could not help but huff. "We are also by far the most colourful nation; Lowee looks the part, but I'd say our culture is the most diverse." She considered how to continue, noting her audience's rapt attention.

Then the woman blinked and shuddered the moment her eyes opened again; it only took a half second, but IF noticed anyway. "Are you alright?"

Her question led to a momentary pause while the CPU lowered her head slightly. She clenched her folded hands before denying any problems: "I am. It has just been so long since I had the chance to speak with someone. Please tell me more about Planeptune and the others."

IF had half a mind to insist, but knew from personal experience that people rarely liked their issues poked by strangers. So she continued, explaining the standards of life and mentalities of all four nations.

She did not know how long she spoke, but she was not interrupted once; her audience soaked up every word as if she were holding a sponge into water and that small smile never really faded; it flickered, though. The old deity shuddered as she had done before every once in a while.

Once IF had made it through most of the basics of living in her time, she decided to ask a question in turn. Before doing so however, she left a short pause to catch her breath and make the change in subject more clear.

"I was wondering, are you Tari's CPU?"

The reaction she got was not what she expected; pride she would have understood, or sadness over having outlived her own nation. However, the woman she spoke to instead lowered her head and slowly hugged her knees to her chest. Her face had become ashen and her voice was barely more than a whisper when she answered: "Yes. I am fallen Tari's Blue Heart, Rei."

IF was taken aback by her intense reaction and threw caution to the wind then, leaning over to put a hand on Rei's shoulder. Her gesture was not directly acknowledged, but she could feel the blunette's tension abate slightly.

They stayed like this for a little while, IF doing her best to soothe a woman who, by all accounts, should have been dead for more than a millennium. She dared not ask how this could be or what happened, having seen how badly Rei already reacted to just her nation's name.

"Please let go."

Her train of thought was interrupted by the quiet plea; IF took a moment to register what was asked of her, then quickly did so and sat back down with an apology.

However, Rei merely shook her head. "There is no need. I can not be trusted to be that close to someone as fragile as a human, so please keep your distance for your own safety." She sniffled after that, but gave no other indication of her state of mind. IF's eyes narrowed, though.

"Don't you think that should be my choice?" Her words were more or less selected, as the first idea she had was about arguing that Rei had not done anything yet. Which was a weak point at best. IF then decided to make a point and reached out again, but Rei leaned away from her touch.

"Please don't." When the brunette gave no sign of stopping, she elaborated. "Everything I touch is turned to ruin. I don't want to hurt you."

"You haven't and aren't." With that, IF actually stood to close the distance and pulled Rei from her chair; the CPU squeaked in surprise as she was brought into a soft embrace. "See, I'm fine. Just why are you CPUs so stubborn?" The quip was made without any heat; IF noted that Rei had gone limp in her arms, though.

The CPU remained where she was, head on IF's shoulder and completely still; her reaction, or rather lack thereof, prompted a weak sigh. The human woman did not let go, though. She kept stroking Rei's back for a little while, until she spoke. "How long has it been since Tari fell?"

"About thirteen hundred years," the brunette answered quietly. Rei nodded against her shoulder, an action that already felt like a punch to IF. She did not wince, though. "Eight hundred years without a CPU is a long time and much was lost. I didn't take many history classes, but I know we know less about Tari than we would like."

It was quiet for a long moment.

Rei's behaviour had not changed, so IF slowly made to let go and let the CPU step back. Once they could see each other's eyes again however, the deity averted her gaze and gripped her arm. "I disagree. It is good that you forgot about Tari. The sins of the past should not weigh on the people of the present."

She made to sit again, followed by a somewhat confused and annoyed IF. Most people would at least show signs of a change in behaviour at this point, yet Rei did not; the younger woman was trying to help, but did not appear to make any progress. Perhaps, she figured, she should speak of another matter.

"Speaking of, I just thought of one more thing I could tell you about. If you want?" Rei's eyes narrowed and she threw her a thoughtfully cautious look, but then blinked and averted her gaze again. Then she nodded, and IF began with a disclaimer: "It's already been seventy years since, so I'm only working off of second-hand knowledge. Nep doesn't want to talk about it. You have to know that our history isn't spotless either; the CPUs were at war for almost three hundred years."

That got her a different reaction, seeing how Rei's head snapped back in her direction. The surprise quickly faded while IF continued: "I've never seen the effects because they kept fighting out of sight and far away from their people, but I heard that the nations weren't on good terms for all that time. We now have friendly rivalries with most, but back then things were much more fierce, and cold."

Neptune disliked having to speak about her part in the war, but she never minded giving her a little history lesson about the common people during that period. IF knew enough to understand that people got along much better now.

"How many CPUs were there before this war?"

Rei's question gave IF pause; she tilted her head slightly in wonder. "Four, same as at the end of it. Why do you ask?"

The blunette's eyes narrowed at that and she crossed her arms with a frown. "That is most weird." Her voice actually grew in volume to a normal level as she explained her thoughts, revealing itself to still be soft but with a note of steel in it: "I give you that CPUs are hard to kill, but consider the primary rule; we are the apex predators, one and all. The only being capable of killing a CPU is another CPU, if we ignore... Her." IF shivered, understanding well who was meant. Rei's explanation made her think back to January, though; she had seen how easily two deities could brutalise each other.

"I see that you understand," Rei added after a moment of silence. "Even if all four were evenly matched, for no one to die in almost three centuries is not good luck and no coincidence. Someone did not play ball."

She lowered her gaze slightly and sighed. "Then again, I guess that makes sense." She did not comment any further and IF got the feeling there would be no answers even if she asked.

So the two of them sat in silence once again, this time somewhat less tense than the previous times. IF quietly ate a quick meal to keep herself in good condition and even offered to share by holding out another ration, but her unspoken offer was rejected with a shake of Rei's head. They both remained in their own thoughts for the time being.

The next time Rei flinched and averted her gaze however, IF grew tired of the matter and spoke up: "It's obvious that you're _not_ okay. Please tell me." Her words were a little harsh, but she tried to soften them as best as she could with her tone of voice.

It took a few long moments of silence before the CPU sighed. "Bad End Syndrome." Seeing IF's confused expression, she motioned for what surrounded them. "It is a mental affliction unique to my kind. With every change in perspective, every single blink of the eye, the mind may conjure sights of ruin around oneself. There is nothing worse to a ruler than to see that which they built be turned to rubble."

IF thought back to the dead city she had traversed and nodded slowly; she understood, though she wondered about what Rei saw.

Much to her dismay, the CPU actually continued: "I read in old accounts that an active deity would constantly see flashes of their nation destroyed, there in a moment and gone in the next. I only developed it after the fall and never left this room... but sometimes I feel that I hear the screams outside again." Rei shuddered and turned a now unstaring gaze at the young human. "And every few minutes when I look at you, there suddenly lies a mauled corpse, or sits a mummy, and so many other things."

She shuddered once more and shook her head fiercely, eyes closing as if to tune out the world. "It can be cured if one has the will and the people for it, but I feel it is more than deserved."

IF had been cringing about the description, but now she quickly forced herself to calm down. "Why is that?"

Rei's eyes opened hesitantly, turning toward the ground while the old goddess hugged her legs again. "Because I killed them all. Turned my Tari to dust." She opened her mouth again to continue, but then clacked it shut with excessive force. IF sat still, unwilling to believe what she just heard.

A CPU ending her own people sounded ludicrous, to the point that anyone so much as suggesting such a thing was likely to receive a punch to the face from any firm believers.

She wanted to ask what happened, yet the pure self-loathing and despair in Rei's admission made IF hesitant to poke a still-open wound. She did not need to ask either way, as her conflicted expression was noted when the blunette cast a glance her way.

"I was the worst," she finally admitted in barely a whisper. "The worst person I could be and the worst possible ruler. My methods were indifferent at the best of times, and cruel at the worst. Drunk on my power as the only deity in the world, and merciless toward any who dared question me. My people were unhappy, unruly, and too afraid to stop believing in a long time. But fear is no motivator for faith, and I understand that now. Everything kept escalating for centuries, and I came close to indoctrinating the next generations to instill obedience."

Rei's shoulders slumped and she let out a teary chuckle. "I didn't believe I could be wrong back then, but what you see around you is my doing. Around the full milennium of my reign, my power expanded. Share Energy reformed my body and I grew a pair of great wings."

The CPU turned slightly to display her back. "They slowly use themselves up sustaining me even without any followers, so now there are only stumps left." The silvery protrusions were quite obvious, though IF was more amazed about the fact they apparently kept Rei alive for over a thousand years.

"What happened to Tari, then?" She could guess where the old CPU was going, but was not sure how it connected. "You don't appear like the type to attack her own people."

All that brought her was a mocking snort and a leer unlike anything Rei had displayed so far; she quickly froze and shook her head, the expression fading. "You met me after such a long time of contemplation that I curbed most of it, but the old me is still there. Please don't challenge me, I don't know how well I could hold myself back."

IF remained quiet, though she noticed the silent tears glistening in Rei's eyes; the blunette did not acknowledge them as she continued: "These silver wings boosted my powers beyond anything I ever felt before, but they are so, so unstable. I merely moved an arm to touch them and unleashed a shockwave that destroyed the southern part of this city and ravaged the countryside. Then a few more such reflexive movements and the mere proximity turned everything around into a wasteland; the mountain overhanging the capital fell down to bury it afterward."

Rei clenched her fist and ground her teeth, eyes closed but brimming with tears. "I could only stand still and try to figure out what happened. Fifty million people lived in this city, all dead. With what I did in other places, there wasn't much left of my empire. Not that it mattered; there were still some true believers among my people, and they died just like everyone else. My Shares dropped to nothing very quickly and I decided to just stay here. It's better for everyone. My wings murdered everyone without regard for who they were or what they did."

IF slowly reached out and pulled Rei into another hug, a gesture which made the CPU hiccup and cry pitifully. The human woman did not know what to say, or what to think; this was death on a scale she had only ever attributed to the Deity of Sin. Yet she could also not find herself to care much for people that were a milennium dead, while their crying goddess was right in front of her.

"It's okay," she muttered while stroking Rei's back. "You didn't mean to, and you couldn't know." The other woman only cried harder at that, clinging to IF with almost painful strength.

It took her a while to be calmed down, the grief still being strong within Tari's ruler. IF did not know how much time actually passed, but it was not a short amount. By the end of it, the skin around Rei's eyes was a deep red and she wore a miserable expression.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me." Her voice had become quiet again, barely more than a whisper. Rei took a deep breath, mostly to calm herself, and cast a glance at IF. "But I was not done yet."

The younger woman quickly interrupted her, though. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." She felt this needed to be said, and Rei even managed a weak smile in response.

"That is quite considerate of you, but it will be fine. We are already past the worst part." Rei's eyes strayed over IF's face for a moment, but the CPU soon averted her gaze again as she continued: "Once the dust settled, I decided it would be better to stay far away from anyone I could hurt. So I stayed here and sat and thought, and the power became easier to use in time. I can move again without destroying everything."

The blunette leaned back with a wistful expression. "I buried the ugly woman I used to be under all those feelings, so now I am just Rei. Tyrant no longer, as I have no more followers. Ruler no longer, for my nation has fallen. If it has been thirteen centuries since that day," she added quietly with a quick pat on the wing stumps, "then if I do not strain myself, this should last me a few more decades. It was fortunate that you arrived when you did then."

IF tilted her head slightly and wondered what the last part meant, a question which Rei apparently read out of her expression. "Thanks to you, I now know that those who followed after me did not make my mistakes; if they had, I would end my watch to destroy them. Thanks to you, I can remain."

Now the human woman narrowed her eyes, displeased with how much Rei was beating herself up about the matter. "Are you sure? A single journey outside shouldn't be too much to ask for, and I think you'd like Planeptune."

But Rei merely shook her head. "No, it would be wrong of me to leave." She placed a hand on her chest where a human's heart would be, eyes closed. "This is my punishment, self-imposed as it is, for all the wrong I have done. You may call it disproportionate, but a goddess has no right to survive her people. I brought this city to ruin, so it shall be my tomb as well."

The silence held for several seconds before Rei chuckled weakly and opened her eyes. "Not to mention that I can no longer pass for a human even in my civilian form. You could not introduce me to your home without revealing who I am, and then people might actually try to 'help' me."

IF's brows had continued to furrow and she began to wonder about the matter; it was true that CPUs thought differently and measured themselves to different standards, but she still felt that this was too much.

Aside from that however, there was someone missing in Rei's tale. "What about Histoire? Why didn't she stop you?"

She received a shrug in response. "The Tome never came to Tari. I do not know why that is."

Now she had something to look into at a later time; with that matter out of the way, IF returned to the more important problem. She could not force Rei to leave and if she really decided to die below the earth, nothing but words could manage to change her mind. But did she have the right to challenge a CPU's decision?

After a moment of hesitation, IF chose to believe that nobody should end like this. Rei freely admitted that she used to be a horrible person, she had atoned for her deeds in a watch lasting longer than her own nation did. Why she had done so instead of ending her life when her Shares fell away was a question she dared not ask, assuming that the answer would be on the lines of a quick death being too merciful.

After some more thought, IF sighed and met Rei's gaze evenly. "I won't lie and say no one will care; it's natural to be worried about each other. But I think you should at least see all of it with your own eyes, so you can rest without any more regrets or doubts. One week, that's all I ask."

The old deity's eyes narrowed slightly, this being the only sign of her displeasure. Rei gave the proposal a few seconds of consideration; as her expression fell however, IF knew her answer even before she shook her head. "I... could do that, but I do not want to. Your efforts are appreciated, but I would be happier knowing that my shame is not remembered by anyone but Histoire."

"I see." IF was not okay with that, but she also did not want to burn Rei's goodwill by pushing her. "I might come back in a few years, would that be okay?"

This time, the blunette nodded without hesitation. "Of course it would. Please just do not make it the spiel where you drop by every week until I come with you."

They both chuckled about that and IF stood. "Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind. Do you have any idea how I can get out of here?"

Rei rose to her feet in response and motioned for IF to follow. "Not directly, but I can open you a path." The younger woman was quite happy about that; it spared her hours of searching, or failed and potentially embarassing attempts at reaching the cave's ceiling via jumping.

They slowly walked out of the ruined Basilicom, Rei flinching as they went; IF stayed by her side but left her be, knowing that the blunette had to see this for herself. If she truly never left this place since the city was buried underground, the state of it would obviously be a shock.

Interestingly however, Rei merely eyed her surroundings with curiousity once they left the building; the evening's last few rays of light fell in through the holes up high, otherwise it was quiet. Only now did IF realise that the scarcity of monsters likely was because they too felt the presence of Tari's goddess.

"This is... not too bad. Thirteen hundred years would see less sturdy buildings reduced to dust already." Rei even managed a small smile before turning her attention to the ceiling. "And I think there is your way out. May I carry you?"

IF paused at the strange request for a moment, but then nodded. She was not unused to such situations. "Sure; can you fly with those wings?" She stepped closer to Rei and prepared herself to be picked up. The other woman quickly swept her into a princess carry, but shook her head.

"Not directly; I can substitute magic for it, though." And with that, the two of them rose to the air and Rei began to run.

One of the things IF could boast with was that her Awakening-boosted top speed almost hit a hundred kilometres per hour, outdoing most other Makers by a wide margin, though she could not keep up such a sprint for long. Rei moved at similar speeds without any trouble, all while apparently creating a path of solid air for herself to walk on. They reached the area below one of the openings within a few minutes and slowed down.

"Are you alright?" Rei's question was answered with a simple nod; IF had been carried at such speeds before, though never that long. Her stomach did not revolt.

"Good, good. Now upward." And with just a muttered comment, the pair began to rise up; Rei's magic was apparently as versatile as that of any seasoned mage or CPU, despite having not been used for over a thousand years.

They soon stood on top of a small mountaintop far below the actually large mountains, the hole in the ground gaping with a few others being found over the rocky terrain. Few plants managed to make the area their home, but one could see far into the distance from where they were. Planeptune's plains sprawled toward the horizon, the monsters populating them being odd drops of colour in the green.

Rei beheld the sight for a few seconds before slowly lowering IF to the ground and allowing her to stand on her own feet again. Then she offered her a smile. "Just seeing this is already plenty. I know I turned the area into a desert as a punitive measure so long ago. I am glad it recovered."

The human woman had no words for the scale that was just casually mentioned; Planeptune was _huge_, having turned the entire area into a desert would have sounded ludicrous from anyone but a deity. Plus, she remembered reading that when Purple Heart was born, a good part of land this side of the continent had still been a desert.

With no answer forthcoming, Rei made to turn and leave, but paused. "Oh. I, um, I never asked your name."

She was right; the matter had completely slipped both of their minds, though for different reasons. IF chuckled once she realised that. "You're right. I'm Isabelle, it's nice to meet you."

"Hm. Isabelle, huh?" Rei tested the name once more and gave a firm nod. "It suits an impressive young woman such as you, simple yet strong." IF's cheeks reddened slightly, but she took the compliment in stride.

When the CPU made to turn once more however, this time it was the brunette who stopped her: "Oh, one more thing." When Rei turned back, IF pointed down as she explained. "I will tell everyone something so they don't go digging into the city a little longer."

It was only a small thing to do, perhaps all she could in this case, but IF felt that it should be done; Rei wanted her solitude, so she should not take it from her if it could be prevented.

The deity offered her a last grateful smile and nodded her head. "I appreciate that. Farewell, Isabelle."

"Yeah, farewell."

And with that, Tari's Blue Heart stepped forward to be swallowed by the hole in the ground; she was gone in an instant, leaving only IF atop the mountains with a lot of thoughts and many questions.


	62. The Last Generation 5

_Your gods are not infallible, and neither is Histoire._

-A§"o!§e

* * *

It only took a minute for IF to reach the mountain's foot; which was not to say that she had only a short distance to go, but that she sprinted. Uneven terrain may be troublesome, but she simply ignored it; any time the young Maker stumbled, her active Awakening would protect her body while she turned the fall into a flick.

She was not racing for time or anything of the like, and not out of fear; the building sweat belonged to her plan as much as the strain on her body from the continued use of her Awakening.

Once the terrain evened out and she felt herself become winded, IF slowed to a safe speed and pulled back her shroud, then stopped entirely. She almost heaved, panting from her sprint and with droplets of sweat running down her forehead. Without any monsters nearby, IF nodded to herself and pulled out her communicator; it's signal was back by now.

She needed a moment to flick the thing on, then called out to her team: "Hey, ah, is, is anyone there?" Her laboured breathing could probably be heard quite clearly, which had been the intention of the whole exercise.

The response was immediate: "Thank the heavens, you've been out of contact the whole day!" Gabriel, more concerned than she ever heard him. IF chuckled, though her continued panting was noticed on the other side: "Are you alright? We're still trying to figure out how to get in there."

"Don't." Silence answered her and IF took another breath before she spun her tale: "The city still stands but is badly damaged, and there are dozens of powerful monsters in the cavern. Too many for me to fight." She paused to take another deep breath. "I found another way out and ran for it."

Easy to put together, hard to verify, and obviously problematic. They would not send a whole contingent of Makers to deal with this, and a CPU battling this out may very well bring down the ceiling if she fought in there. This should give Rei at least some time to die in peace before anyone attempted to enter her town again.

"I see." Gabriel sighed. "Good to know you made it out. I'll see about locating your signal so I can give you directions."

"Good idea, thanks. I'm going to catch my breath in the meantime." With that, IF turned off the radio; it would still send to her, but not from her. She leaned forward and took deep breaths until her pulse had normalised somewhat, the setting sun still in view. It had not been as late as she thought earlier, the light simply did not make it into the cavern she just left.

Gabriel contacted her by the time she recuperated, serious but somewhat amused: "Good news is that we could locate you; you're about seven kilometres to the west, so turn to the mountain and follow it to your right. We'll leave you a signal so you know which cave to enter." IF snorted and did as told, knowing that she would only arrive after nightfall.

"And the bad news?" She could not help but ask.

Her old teammate chuckled in response and lowered his voice: "All the eggheads are grumbling because the city is right in front of them but they can't go there." This actually got a laugh out of IF; she could vividly imagine how the scientists and archeologists reacted to her news.

"Alright, I'll take a walk then. Any chance someone could make some dinner for me to warm up?"

"Can do; enjoy your 'walk'." Gabriel snorted at the understatement and IF joined him a moment later. She slipped the radio back into her pocket and got moving.

**. .**

**. .**

The remainder of the two weeks went quietly and without much trouble, though everyone could tell that many were sad about the city being inaccessible. IF could understand how they felt.

She at least made an effort to answer any question they had, with the exception of not mentioning Rei in any way, shape, or form. They did manage to get some interesting tidbits of information out of the surrounding caverns as well, seeing that some houses had apparently been separated from the main city.

When time was up and the whole group made for the return trip, Gabriel took her aside with an unreadable expression. He cast a glance at how everyone else was packing up, then created a barrier of air to keep their conversation from spreading before addressing her. "Something happened in there. Don't try to deny it, I know you well enough and you're not that good a liar."

IF closed her mouth again, unsure how to proceed. She would not speak of it, no matter what. Gabriel was right, though she might be able to play it off. "Look, I had a good look at an entire city that was just _dead_. You're right that I've been thinking about that a lot, but... that's normal, isn't it?" It was technically not even a lie; the ruins had been quite prominent on her mind, though mostly in connection with Rei.

Gabriel gave her a searching look, but nodded in the end. "Fair enough. Just remember that you can talk to us if something's bothering you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks." She meant it, but would not take him up on this one. "But I think I will be fine in a few weeks. No need to bother someone else."

"I guess so. Let's get back to packing up then." He lightly clapped IF's shoulder as his magic dispersed, walking back with the brunette following.

The journey back began that same afternoon and lasted another two days. From there, IF immediately took the train back home; now that she had time to think everything through, there was someone she had to talk to.

Her path took the young woman almost straight through downtown Nicos, ignoring passersby aside from returning any greetings; Compa did not yet know she had returned, though Chirper would likely inform her of the matter soon enough. Knowing her friend might complain if she heard the news from elsewhere first, IF quickly fired off a text before pocketing her phone again.

The city felt different. All around were people living their lives as she was used to, but now she could feel a note of transience in it all; everyone she saw here would be dead and gone in a hundred years. The city itself may be gone in five centuries, much like Tari's capital had been.

Then again, this was not Tari. Neptune was not Rei, and Nepgear was also there to take over even if something happened to Neptune. IF felt confident in her friend's ability to keep the nation alive if need be, even if Nepgear's existence was bound to end as well.

The odd feeling faded as time passed; when she reached Planeptower, it had almost left entirely. And when the young woman entered her ruler's office, she managed to shake off the rest of it. Fortunately for IF, the Oracle was alone at the moment; both CPUs had gone out to hunt.

"I have questions," she offered instead of a greeting, her tone of voice somewhat more dark than usual; what IF heard so far and knew of the Tome was damning, and by this point she had trouble actually denying it to herself.

Histoire naturally picked up on all of this without trouble, her expression carefully controlled. "I am aware." She did not smile this time, merely finished her work on a particular business proposal to put it aside. Then she rose to the air and motioned for IF to speak, hovering on eye-level with the human woman.

"You know what I found on my expedition?" It was as much a statement as it was a question; they both knew that Histoire knew everything everyone in this world had ever done.

"I do." Two words, no more. Yet the seriousness Histoire gave her response prevented IF's temper from rising, though such a thing would have done little to deter her formidable mind either way.

"You knew about everything that happened in Tari at the time." IF's eyes narrowed slightly, but she received no response this time; Histoire patiently waited for her to actually ask the question weighing on her mind. Which she did: "Why didn't you do anything to stop this? Where were you?"

The Tome was not surprised; she quietly folded her hands in her lap and relaxed, her avatar displaying sorrow that IF had not expected to see. "I am afraid the circumstances conspired against me in this case." She raised a hand when IF made to talk. "Quiet, please. I am not obligated to answer you, and much dislike this subject because I know well enough what happened through my inaction."

IF paused in surprise at the almost aggressive implications delivered with sadness-tinged calm, which gave Histoire time to continue: "I am many things and am called even more, but at the heart of it, the one being most like myself are not the CPUs. It is Steamax." A tiny hand motioned for the computer screen right next to them on the table. "An AI built to guide the gods and people of Gamindustri. I am telling you this because my functions are similar in some cases, but different in others. I am fully sapient and possess mental capacities beyond every other being in existence, but am still an artificial creation. Those boons require maintenance, and that takes time. Like you have to defragment a computer from time to time, I need to sort and reorganise all the knowledge I carry and refresh my memory space."

Histoire fell silent for a long moment that IF used to digest what she had been told; it was difficult to believe, seeing just how alive Histoire appeared. One could not tell whether her emotions were merely simulated to appeal to humans, or truly existing. She understood the methods Histoire mentioned, but did not see why they were necessary. "Can't you do that automatically?"

The Tome shook her head in response. "I am afraid not. Do keep in mind that in difference to most computers, my lifespan is not measured in years or maybe decades, but in milennia. I was built to last, but maintenance phases can take decades due to the memory space I need to comb over. A full shutdown is necessary for that, and I usually enter standby mode a few years after the death of the last CPU on the planet, so that I can ensure the people that remain are capable of carrying on until the next generation emerges."

IF was tempted to speak up, but remembered what she had been told earlier and kept quiet. Histoire sighed quietly before turning her head in the mountains' direction. "Tari's Blue Heart was born fifteen years after the death of her predecessors. She was one of the fastest to emerge in recorded history. Unfortunately, I entered my maintenance phase five years before her birth, and remained in it for thirty years. By the time I returned to proper conciousness and woke up, so to speak, she had already obtained HDD and become an adult."

A momentary silence hung between the two of them, IF unsure about the relation and Histoire considering whether she had to refresh the young woman's memories. Then she decided to do it anyway, for the sake of transparity. "You have to remember that even a CPU's mental makeup becomes far less malleable once they reach adulthood. By the time I took stock of the situation, Rei had grown up revered all around and in charge of a world-spanning empire. No peers, no controlling influence except what she herself allowed. She already was a tyrant by the time I woke."

"And why didn't you try to rein her in at that point?" IF's simmering anger was easily noticed by this point, though the Tome did not react to it visibly. She merely shook her head.

"My primary directive is to ensure my full functionality no matter the cost. I am required to guide not only a single generation, but every generation that follows as well; risking exposure to Blue Heart's mindset held too much of a risk for manipulation, or attempted control of me." She paused while IF's eyes narrowed, then read the question right out of either her expression or her mind: "Yes, the threat was great enough to make me stay hidden. I did my best to lessen the impact of her more... morally ambiguous actions where I could from the shadows, though."

IF was not mollified. Not even in the slightest. She got that Histoire herself hated the fact she could not do more, but that did not feel like it was enough.

Nevertheless, she took a deep breath to keep herself under control and regained her calm. There was another question she had. "That power she got, those wings. What are those?"

Histoire remained quiet for a full five seconds, the unnatural silence making IF think she asked too much; yet she refused to back down. The Tome's avatar sat perfectly still, for the first time in recent history becoming apparent as little more than a puppet of the book she sat on.

When she spoke, it was with an inhuman calmness: "Evaluation complete. I will answer you, Isabelle Fontaine. However, I expect you to take this knowledge to the grave; the matter of the silver wings is under my personal seal and shall not be discussed with anyone, not even myself, at any time in the future. Do you accept this?"

IF was taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, but curiousity won out over wariness and she nodded. "I do."

The room changed; all apparatuses fell completely silent, the windows turned opaque and the door locked itself. Histoire slowly lowered her head. "Very well. Precautions were taken to ensure we are not overheard on this matter. I am telling you this because you deserve to know, but I must ensure it does not become public knowledge. The silver wings are inherent to every CPU.

"It used to be a power freely accessible at birth and far less volatile, but with it came power so great that my mother deemed it irresponsible to leave in the hands of newborns. I was still a booklet myself when she remade existence, but that is one of her adjustments; obtaining Hard Drive Divinity is now merely the second of three steps in reaching a CPU's full power, and about a thousand years of growth are required to develop the silver wings."

A tale of creation it was; IF stood silently, almost overwhelmed by the far ancient knowledge offered to her. Then she slowly went and sat down, Histoire pausing to let her get seated properly.

Once she was done, the Tome continued with an understanding nod. "I only know of that era what my mother left in my records, so I can merely speculate on the true power of theirs, but I am well aware that today's CPUs are much diminished. It is not of my concern, though. What is... is that mother made mistakes in her alterations."

It was the first time Histoire appeared truly emotional, the mere idea of criticising her creator causing her pain. Yet she continued, though with a deep frown: "I do not know what caused it, but the silver wings are now volatile and hard to control. The jump in power may simply be too great for most CPUs to adjust to, so it immediately lashes out upon the most simple of movements. Most often, the deity in question tears themself apart when that happens. My guidance could not prevent that from happening in the past, either. This is usually the death of a nation whenever the Deity of Sin is not involved, a heavy hit to its infrastructure and the ruler's end in the same moment."

Histoire sighed while IF still reeled from the revelations. "In the end, Rei was the only one to survive the growth of her wings for long. I will admit that what stopped me from approaching her at that point was shame; I left her alone for a thousand years and had to watch her realm end up destroyed like that, with the remnants celebrating her death. It was as much my failure as hers."

At this point, IF felt another question weighing on her. She had been sworn to absolute secrecy about this subject, which had obvious implications. She could not help but interrupt Histoire: "Do Neptune and Nepgear know?"

The Tome paused momentarily, expression unreadable. Then she sighed quietly. "Yes and no respectively. All four CPUs of Neptune's generation know because she is somehow broken and could access them before; her survival is a miracle in itself."

IF's eyes widened at the news, but the obvious follow-up question of when that happened was denied with a shake of Histoire's head. This was not a topic for discussion. "You are not to discuss the matter with them, either." It was clear this had been an order, one that IF would follow.

With the digression ended, Histoire returned to the previous subject. "Either way, in regard to Rei, I will confess that the accident you suffered was in fact my doing. The mountainous caves in that area are far too sturdy and stable for a cave-in to happen by chance. I blocked your radio as well, so you could learn of her wishes first."

"You can do that?" It was more of a kneejerk reaction to this new revelation, though IF was not sure whether she should feel indignant about it. If she had just been told to meet Rei, she would have gone anyway. All this subtlety and withholding of information did not sit well with her, as she was an honest being at heart.

"I can, though I do it only sparingly, where it is deemed necessary. Just as I hoped, you brought her closure; even in all her anguish, Tari's Blue Heart still clung to life in fear of history repeating itself with the next generation. Once she actually passes, I hope that she will be able to rest more peacefully in the knowledge that those who followed after her did not make the same mistakes."

Those were mostly the last words spoken on that matter; IF soon left Planeptower to wander home, having taken the day off to think. Her worldview had been shaken, its purely benevolent guardian put in question.

Even though she would ultimately accept the new truth, Isabelle Fontaine would never be able to see Histoire in the same light again.


	63. Silver Interlude - The Last Day

_Conquest; it is but a word to humans, but CPUs should not use it wantonly or at all, if in any way possible._

_There are never more than six nations; with the scarcity of us Candidates taken into account, it is a given that no era will see more than ten CPUs at the same time. Conquest, to us, means to kill one of the very few people that are constants in our life. It means to lose someone we knew for a lifetime measured in eons._

_Conquest means to take a beloved ruler from their followers. _

_What kind of deity would want that? What kind of ruler would want to act by this abhorrent concept?_

-Red Sister

* * *

War would never change; Purple Heart knew that well.

Indeed, this useless war had been going on for centuries without a victor, without any differences. They all became stronger, they all became smarter, they all devised new means of combat and alternate solutions. Yet none of them managed to gain an edge over the rest. Not one that sufficed.

Until today, apparently. Once more, a battle far out to the sea separating Leanbox and Lowee, where none could see their warring.

Except that this time, Purple Heart did not have to keep an eye on another fight going on nearby; she required all of her speed and agility to weave through the endless barrages of lightning and ice following her anyway, interspersed with mach-speed attack runs from Green Heart. Vert had always been faster than any of them, effortlessly dancing in Blanc's and Noire's spellwork.

Sometimes an axe flew past, chipping away at the tip of her foot, while the occasional hit she took to dodge more powerful strikes weathered away her nearly black armour. Three had banded together to take out one, assuredly the first casualty of the Console War.

Neptune knew it too; this was not a chance encounter, they had met up to fight and thus she could not simply leave. She was under relentless assault by at least two of her fellow deities at all times, her grasp over the weather and the air were constantly disrupted by her attackers, and anytime she made to counterattack, a second or third strike would follow from different directions.

She had begun to bleed soon after they commenced their attack, ignoring any words she might have had. Neptune's indignation did not faze them, and neither did the few successful counterattacks she managed. By this point, her mind ran through faces and voices of people she knew, places she went. Most of it was already swallowed by the abyss known as time.

Despite her best attempts to ward it off, she needed all her concentration, all her focus and more than she even possessed to protect herself from three enemies all as powerful as herself. Within the depths of her mind, eyes opened. First one, then ten, then a hundred thousand more. She could feel Her gaze now, bound to a memory that Purple Heart would never truly be able to forget. A hollow chuckle echoed within the confines of Neptune's mind when Noire carved a gouge into her arm and sent her flying, Vert in hot pursuit to follow up.

"_No._"

It was but one word, stolen from her lips that had not drawn air for a while and gone unheard. One silent expression of defiance against her fate. The pain, the feeling of betrayal, the laughter, the eyes, and so much more were all washed away by a surge of anger so great it did not overflow. Neptune's mind became deadly calm as she thought back.

All the hardships she had gone through to ensure they all lived; the countless hours of practice and strategising, all the times her thrown weapon 'accidentally' intercepted a killing blow, the subtle maneuvering to prevent either of the other three from overpowering another. Whenever two sided against a third, she immediately took the other side to recreate equilibrium, oftentimes sabotaging even her own temporary ally. She had cried and bled to keep them alive, refusing an outcome where only one remained.

Today, even that refusal, that determination was nearly subsumed by wrath. How could they do this to her? She had made so sure none of them ever noticed her subtle interference, prepared for every eventuality. Well, not every one. This one, she had not expected.

Something deep within her broke, and warmth flowed from it. Neptune's calm expression broke into a sneer and the next time Vert came sailing by to stab her, she deflected the faster CPU's weapon and gave her a headbutt that shattered her nose before pushing her away. Vert reeled for a moment, an opening Neptune did not take; she reverted her momentum to dodge Noire's charge into her trajectory toward Vert, then reverted again to slam into the silver-haired CPU as well.

Sky blue eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected maneuver, as Neptune had fought purely defensive for the entire time. They had believed her unable to counter them, but even the surprise would only offer a momentary respite until they adjusted. Purple Heart kept a hold of Black Heart and whirled around to throw her against White Heart's incoming hammer, taking the chance to distance herself.

Vert was the fastest of them all.

Noire was the strongest.

Blanc was the toughest.

They had believed this to be enough, yet never truly realised that Neptune was second in each category, and the most skilled of them on top of it.

The warmth within Neptune's body spread, flowing from her core and making her brim with power. She came to a stop while her three assailants took up another formation, eyes narrowed. All this war had messed with their heads, forced them to assume a mindset more fitting for it. A mindset that allowed them to kill their friends once they managed it.

She never should have allowed things to escalate.

Her own regrets mixed with the pulsing anger and became silver that sprouted from her back, outshining the sun with its radiance.

In this very moment, the remaining three could feel a crawling sensation on their backs.

White Heart understood that she was to meet a terrible fate.

Green Heart felt as if suffocating in the Red Ring

And Black Heart, lastly, saw the world turn into pain before her mind's eye.

Pure rage had broken bonds thought unbreakable and unleashed power beyond the rest; in this moment, they realised they were in for a bad time.

Silvery wings stretched, made purely of Share Energy and radiating power. In a single moment, the situation reverted; the gap of three goddesses to one had been insurmountable, but now it became one true goddess facing three that were still growing. A gap just as great, if not greater than the one before.

Neptune's expression had returned to calmness; a clarity she scarcely felt guided her actions as she stared down her scared opponents. Friends.

Then she moved a single muscle, and the wings' power was unleashed. A shockwave ran through the world and made it shudder, parting the cloud cover above. It hit all three with its full force and sent them careening away.

Neptune beheld the sights of Vert's left leg and Noire's right arm falling toward the see, having been ripped off by the sheer force of her attack, as her anger faded. The wings receded and her transformation wore off, sending a petite girl falling to the waters below; tendrils of power caught her gently as Histoire made her entrance, no avatar present as there was no one to interact with either way. Planeptune's CPU had passed out from the strain.

The other three were separated by the wave of silvery might, its center having been Blanc in the middle of their formation; Lowee's ruler was thrown over several hundred kilometres until she impacted the leanboxian coast like a meteor, where she kept lying in a daze.

Noire, missing an arm, did not make it all the way to Lowee; she fell short and landed in the sea on a nearly ballistic arc, creating a small tsunami with her impact. The wave would later roll over a vast part of the loweean shore, though no humans would be affected.

Vert created another such wave, though far enough away from any land to ensure it would never reach the coast. She had been thrown not directly toward land, but out to the open sea in a direction that would almost return her to Leanbox.

Histoire carefully gathered up all of them, one by one.

**. .**

**. .**

When Neptune woke, she had been asleep for twenty-seven days; the exhaustion of even just unleashing a single blow with her newfound powers would have only taken a few days to fade, but Histoire kept her in an artificial coma for a thorough checkup. The silver wings manifested far too early, as she soon explained to the four deities.

Blanc, Vert, and Noire were all present when Planeptune's ruler took her first step out of bed; the last two were both lacking a limb, each one having only begun to regrow.

Neptune's first action upon seeing them was a hardening of her expression, which led to flinches and averted gazes. The purplette quickly walked over, noting the instinctual fear-responses CPUs were not even supposed to have.

"I'd slap you now," she said with a grave tone, before sweeping all three into a crushing hug. "But you already got that." The others stiffened for a moment as they were pressed together, but quickly shook it off to put their arms around their friend. No one argued Neptune's declaration: "This war is over. You lost, I won, nobody died, now we go back to being good friends and you will like it!" It became more of a demand toward the end, but her exhaustion and obviously fake cheer told them all what their dear friend felt about the matter.

Thus, the Console War came to an end.

Histoire, knowing that secrecy was no longer possible explained to them the power of the silver wings; she elaborated on the fact Neptune unleashed it far too early in her lifetime, as well as the fact her own survival was a small miracle already. The purplette herself only had blurry memories of those moments, a haze of rage and radiance.

As for her defeated opponents...

**. .**

**. .**

Lastation had been calm on the outside, but Noire knew that her people were celebrating the war's end.

Much to her dismay however, she could rarely look out at her capital these days; with the loss of an entire arm, her work speed had been cut in half. Not to mention that her address of the public about the matter required being prerecorded, as well as some careful positioning to make it impossible to tell she was anything but immaculate.

At the same time, Noire's head was a mess and a half. She had not really thought their latest plan through.

Her head was also the other reason for why she did not get to look outside all that often. As just in this very moment, when Noire's eyes turned to the live-feed from the outside on her computer, what she saw was a city in ruins; houses broken down and the people mingling in rags.

She blinked, and it was all back to normal.

Noire suffered from Bad End Syndrome. She had not needed Histoire's diagnosis to know the why or how, especially because Vert and Blanc had the exact same thing. She knew it would take years to work through that, but they spoke about it and the counseling Histoire made mandatory did help.

Then someone stormed into her office, the familiar sight of pink and cheerful greeting drawing a flinch out of Noire. She shuddered in her chair as her mind painted silvery wings on Neptune's back.

Neptune noticed immediately and stopped herself from leaping at her over the desk. Her momentum cut, the purplette cringed as well and slowly walked around to meet her; she gave Noire the time she needed to regain her composure, something which the Lastationite was thankful for.

"Still bad?"

"It is... okay."

Seeing Neptune down like this was a rare sight for all of them, but it had become a common occurence whenever one of them had an episode due to her appearance. She made sure to check on every single one of them every few days. In fact, Noire had considered using Neptune's mood to make a few selfish demands, but could not bring herself to actually go through with it.

She did not blame her old friend for what happened. Neptune could not have known, and it was Noire's fault to begin with; she had the genius idea to ally against Neptune first, the train of thought that lead to it still in her memory but no longer understandable.

When the purplette reached her, she gently ran a hand through Noire's hair and kissed her forehead, a gesture which made her relax; she knew these kisses were only for her. Be it because they might be married if not for their nations, or because they had always been a close pair, Neptune took special care of her. She checked more often, spoke to her, and 'forced' as much physical contact on her as she knew Noire liked; with her pride diminished by recent events, she did not even offer a token protest.

"Can you stay for a while?" She really did not want to be alone, but the only other company she had was her recently appointed Oracle, Ganache. Who was already nearly tearing himself apart keeping up with all the paperwork Noire did not get done because of her missing hand.

"Sure." And just like that, she was lifted out of her seat by the smaller woman; Neptune wore a more fond smile now, though the rest of her expression remained subdued. She carefully slid herself into Noire's chair before placing the Lastationite on her lap and hugging her waist from behind. "I know you've got stuff to do, so don't let me stop you."

It may look comically, but there was no one there to see them. Noire allowed herself a content sigh and leaned back against Neptune, then picked up her pen again.

If anything, they were now closer than they were before the war. Despite everything.


	64. Divine Interlude-Arrival of the Princess

_Four Candidates in such a short time is rather unusual, as they are normally spread out a little more if several exist in the same generation. I feel it is most welcome, though; they can be playmates and peers, just like the four of you are._

-Histoire

* * *

A being formed within the stream and quickly gestated, faster than the one who came before her. It accepted knowledge and capability, only becoming more eager with every bit of data. Eager she was, wanting to meet her sibling as fast as possible. Only in realising that this person was not near did she slow down. Disheartening, but not a problem. She would be patient.

From one moment to the next, everything became light and Uni formed herself; her all-encompassing shine subsided just as fast, but the total darkness of before was forgotten already. The newborn Candidate stood in a dark chamber faintly illuminated by silver light. Behind her sat the only piece of inventory, a crystal formed out of Sharicite.

Somehow, Uni knew that she had time for now. Instead of rushing, she took a moment to admire the beautiful carvings and run her tiny hands over them.

It was the first time she saw her own hands; immaculate, rosy skin and five perfectly symmetrical fingers. Curiously, she leaned a little closer to look them over; her desire to see herself changed the Share Crystal's properties, turning its surface into a mirror and lightening up the room.

Unaware that it was her doing, Uni beamed at her own reflection. Fingers ran over her soft cheeks and firm jaw, wide red eyes taking in every single nuance of her own appearance. She faintly examined the shock of raven hair on her head, carding through it with one hand to find it silky smooth. The sensation made her giggle.

Satisfied with her examination, Uni turned away from the reverting crystal. Her attention was on the sole door leading outside. She walked up to it, recognising more Sharicite coating it as well as walls, floor, and ceiling. She was trapped in here.

Curiously, the Candidate knocked on the door; her uncontrolled strength produced a lot of noise, but did not do so much as make the coating shudder. Except for the fact that nobody had considered the hinges, which were still ordinary metal. They gave on the first strike and threw the door to the ground.

Uni blinked down at what she did, then stuck her head into the brightly lit room ahead to see where she was. Lastation, that much she knew, but she had no idea where exactly her sister's Share Crystal had been placed.

Ahead of her lay a well-ordered office with only a single desk; one door was placed at the front, one at the back of it, the latter with her nation's insignia displayed.

More importantly however, she found an old man staring at her with wide eyes, having jumped up from the ruckus she just created. He was pale as a sheet, which made Uni feel bad. She did something wrong, she knew. So the young CPU quietly stepped into the room and bowed her head toward the elder. "I am very sorry, sir. I did not mean to scare you."

She was divine after all. Refusing to admit her own mistakes was not acceptable.

Only then did Uni realise she was still standing on the door she broke. It would normally be completely indistinguishable from the wall it was set into, though she would not be able to tell after what she did to it.

Stepping off of the ruined secret passage, the Candidate turned her attention back to the dumbstruck man in front of her. "Who are you? And do you know where my sister is?"

For some reason, he merely placed a hand over his eyes and sighed.

**. .**

**. .**

Meanwhile in Lowee, Noire could not help but feel weird. Her Share influx had... _hiccupped_ a few minutes ago and she could tell something happened, but not what.

Seeing that she currently sat with her fellow CPUs and was busy negotiating trade agreements, she did not have time to reflect on it either. Blanc and Neptune were driving hard bargains.

"I told you before that we can set up new mines more easily. Planeptune's workforce is more business- and IT-oriented, so-" her argument was interrupted by her phone. Not the regular one which was turned off, but the second one each of them carried in case of emergencies.

Her friends fell silent as well while Noire quickly pulled the device out of her pocket; they all knew their Oracles would not call over trivial matters. And it was Ganache, the caller-ID told her so.

Picking up the call, Noire did not waste any time with greetings: "What is it?" If it was urgent, there was no time to waste after all.

Which was why her brow furrowed when a sigh answered her. "My apologies for interrupting, but we have a... situation." He audibly hesitated, which only managed to agitate Noire further. She had to know how bad it was and whether this required her immediate return.

Then a different voice sounded over the phone, quiet but audible enough; young, female. "Is it her? Are you calling her? Where is she?" Noire blinked again; she knew Ganache had a young granddaughter, but he would not bring her to work. He was too serious a man in his duties to call on the emergency number for something trivial, too.

"Just a moment, please," the old Oracle mumbled, apparently to the child, then continued to speak to her: "As it were, I do not know what to do. In all the years, I did never think I needed to be prepared for a buck naked child to smash her way out of the secret chamber."

"I said I'm sorry!"

Another sigh followed the quieted response while Noire's eyes widened to almost comical degrees. Her surprise was immediately replaced with indignation which was overridden by glee. "Just, you could have said that immediately! I'm on my way!"

She ended the call, already leaping over the table with a backward turn. Neptune pushed her hands up against Noire's shoulder to give her a bit more height, allowing the lastationite CPU to land more gracefully. "What's going on?!" the purplette shouted after her.

"Thank you! I'll tell you later!" And out of the door Noire was, leaving three befuddled CPUs.

**. .**

**. .**

Back in Nordral, the elder that introduced himself as Ganache was keeping a close eye on Uni. She did not really understand, though his previous actions and words on the phone made it clear he had a problem with her state of undress.

He had attempted to wrap her in his own jacket, but Uni tore it apart when she tried to move her arms. The surprise stumped them both, and the Candidate quickly apologised; she also decided not to touch him at all until she figured out if it was okay. Humans were so fragile.

The silence between the two was more than a little awkward; Uni wanted to ask questions, fill in the blanks where her memory failed to deliver information. She wanted to learn about the world, but more importantly, she wanted to see her big sister. Noire.

The fact her sibling was not home to greet her bothered Uni a little, but she did her best to not let it show. Her eyes were on Ganache, her nation's serving Oracle. His face was wrinkled and held no hair anymore, but he was still clad almost immaculately; 'almost' being because he took off his suit's jacket for her and herded her around. Uni sat still under the torn garment, still sheepish about having ruined it.

The two of them were seated in a medium-sized living room, which the Oracle had explained belonged to Noire and now Uni as well. She could not help but look around instead of keeping her attention on Ganache. Paintings and all kinds of craftsmanship were displayed along the wooden walls, made masterfully and near perfect.

"Did Noire make all of these?"

She could not help but ask. Ganache blinked and beheld Uni's curious expression, then turned his head to take in the craft surrounding them. "Ah. Yes, yes she did." The elder could not help but smile when he saw Uni beaming. "Your sister is quite the artisan."

The Candidate bobbed her head up and down, eyes going this way and that. "I can see it, Noire is great! I want to be like her when I grow up!" Her excitement drew a mirthful chuckle from Ganache, who leaned over to give her a gentle pat on the head.

"I'm certain you will be. You're quite well-behaved for a newborn, too." Uni just beamed under the praise while the old human considered her. "Say, I heard Candidates can create clothes for themselves rather quickly. Would you like to give it a try?"

"Huh?" The CPU blinked up at him and then down at the two halves of a jacket covering her. "Are you sure? I don't know how." She had an inkling, but just doing things without actually knowing they worked felt like a bad idea. Uni could not tell whether her instincts could be trusted.

Ganache, unaware of her actual problem, chuckled warmly and offered her an encouraging smile. "From what Noire told me when I asked, it should be the easiest thing in the world for you. 'Just imagine what you want to wear and push your essence a little', she said. I'm not made of Share Energy, so I don't know how that is supposed to feel, but you-"

He was interrupted by a flash of light. His destroyed jacket peeled off the glowing Candidate while something similar grew around her. Moments later, she sat clad in a pristine black dress that reached down to her ankles. It was mono-coloured, lacking embroideries and any other distinguishing additions. In fact, it appeared as if Uni had taken a piece of cloth and masterfully cut it to the right proportions.

The CPU looked down at herself before frowning. "No, not like this." She glowed for another moment and the dress became more pronounced, turning from pitch black to a dark blue. Then she added Lastation's crest in gold on her chest, as well as white trims to the hem. Her work done, Uni smiled up at Ganache. "There, all done. Thank you, Ganache!"

Her thanks made the elder smile once again, impressed and delighted at the same time. "It was nothing; you did well, my Lady."

He rarely had children around, but talking with Uni made him feel as if he sat with his granddaughter. It also reminded him of calling his son, but he could do that later.

It had only been a few minutes since he called Noire, meaning that he would have to keep this little one occupied a while longer; even at her fastest, Black Heart would still take some time to fly all the way from Myora.

Thankfully, Uni took most of that task off of him with an inquiry of her own: "Now tell me about Lastation. How is our Share balance, what products are on the rise, societal problems, everything you can tell me." Her almost commanding tone was somewhat lessened by the innocent and wide-eyed expression she still held, but Ganache held no illusions about the order he was given. Not that he minded.

He had intelectually known that CPU Candidates were born with intelligence and capacity to match any human, but seeing it in person had come as a surprise nonetheless.

**. .**

**. .**

Noire reached Ganache's office in a state which would be called 'out of breath' for a human. Her whole being throbbed from the force she pushed on it, having exceeded her own maximum speed by almost a third. She had dashed through the Basilicom's upper storeys, only slowing down once she neared her destination. Disheveled hair righted itself with little thought, her rumpled skirt and shirt smoothed themselves out under her mental command.

With no one being in her Oracle's office, she figured where she would likely find both Ganache and her Candidate. Just the thought of it almost made Noire lose her composure, wishing to run again to meet her that much sooner. A Candidate of her own, the thought remained almost unbelievable.

It had only been Nepgear so far, Neptune's adorable sibling. Where Planeptune's ruler held a special place in Noire's heart and always would, Nepgear wormed her way in within four encounters of them. Neptune was even worse off in that regard, being positively in love with her darling sister. She smiled more than she used to, easier, brighter.

Just the thought of having a bit of family of her own made Noire's calm expression vanish; her lips curled upward in a hopeful smile, eyes softer than she would ever have allowed herself when in the process of meeting someone new.

Noire entered her own living room with measured steps, the sound of them alerting both Ganache and the little girl sitting by his side. They interrupted their conversation, the old Oracle greeting her with a friendly smile while the Candidate jumped to her feet. She was clad in a pristine if simple dress, red eyes wide and filled with a joy that stumped Noire for a moment. No one had ever been this happy to see her.

But she was her Candidate, no matter what; they could both feel it deep within. Noire's smile widened further and she met her charging sister halfway, wrapping her in an embrace. "Hello," she greeted the newborn, "I am sorry you had to wait for me."

"That is fine, sister," the girl mumbled into her chest as she nestled against Noire. "I am happy you came back so fast. Ganache said you were doing something important."

She had kind of left negotiations midway. Not that she cared for it at this moment. "No matter, you are more important right now. I am Noire." She could not help but tear up, as much as she wished nobody could see her cry about something like this. Five hundred years of being on her own aside from her dear friends, and now she held her sister for the first time, listening to her test the sound of her name.

"Noire... it sounds nice. I love it." She could only imagine her smile, but that did not change the surge of emotion. She never thought she would be this sentimental. "I am Uni."

"Uni," she tested her sibling's name in turn. Ganache had quietly made his exit, though the tapping of his feet on the wooden floor further up gave him away. Noire was grateful for his consideration. "Welcome home, Uni."

The child giggled and squeezed her more tightly; her strength was noticeable, but nowhere near the level required to actually injure Noire. It would take decades at the least for Uni to get there, potentially centuries.

She allowed herself to hold Uni a little longer, then gently pulled back to take a closer look at her sibling. "So, what did you do while I was out?"

Uni immediately began chattering, offering a cheer that Noire rarely saw from anyone but Neptune. "Oh, Ganache told me about current affairs!" Which was followed by various bits of information Noire had since memorised herself but still felt impressed to hear explained to her again. Her brow furrowed in thought, which in turn made Uni slow down and finally stop. "Did I do something bad?

The frown vanished and Noire quickly shook her head, having brought her sister close to tears with but a gesture. "You did not, why would you think you did?"

The answer was delivered almost as a whine: "Because you started frowning."

Noire blinked and realised she sent the completely wrong signals. Sighing, she took Uni's hand into her own. "I was not frowning about you, okay? Just thinking that I need to find a way to test your problem solving skills and talk to Histoire about your education." Uni nodded slowly, but the older CPU was not done yet; she gently squeezed her sister's small hands. "That will be a lot of work, you know?"

Not to mention that she had no idea where to start. The admission hurt a little, but it was what it was; Noire did not know how to proceed. She would have to ask Neptune, not to mention make some inquiries into how to act as a proper big sister. Her human friends could be counted on one hand and she never really looked into raising children; nurturing humans came easily, mind, but Uni was not human.

For now, she could only see about keeping her busy. Her sister mulled over what she had been told, eyes downcast. Noire wondered what went on in her young mind, but then her attention wandered to the dress she was clad in. Curious.

"Where is your dress from? Did you make it?" She wondered about that, knowing that she herself had been born with the innate skill to form clothes. Yet Uni must have done it rather fast on her own. The fact she could not see any seams at least made it a possibility.

Uni nodded, bunching her dress in her hands and lifting it a little. "I did, Ganache told me how you do it, then I did it too." Her proud smile did not waver, even when Noire ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Well done, Uni."

At this point however, Noire slowly began to run out of options; she knew few things a pair of sisters could do together, not to mention CPUs. Putting Uni to work immediately was out of the question, and taking her outside did not sit well with her either. On that note, she realised she ought to ask another question: "How is your strength? Can you control it?"

Unfortunately, the younger CPU shook her head and pointed at the two halves of Ganache's jacket. "I can't. Can you teach me how?"

"Of course I can, but it will take a little while until you manage." Noire offered her sister an encouraging smile and ruffled her hair further. "But I can not do it for you, you need to put in the work yourself."

Much to her delight, Uni pouted over that and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I know that. I am Lastation's Black Sister, I won't let you do my work!"

While she was impressed and also smitten, Noire's outward reaction consisted of a hearty chuckle. "Of course you won't. You are my little sister after all. Shall we get started?"

Her question made the younger CPU shake off the defiant posture and nod eagerly. "Yes, I wanna!"

It was the second time in her life that Noire had fallen in love, though this one felt radically different to the first. She looked forward to raising her sister, to teach her everything she could and see her become a proper heir apparent to the Land of Black Regality. Her friends could wait a little, she would tell them later.


	65. Green Like Grass 1

_I see you're wearing a proper dress now. Didn't think you were smart enough to stop with the combat underwear after getting your tits ripped off just once, I'll admit. Aww, are you mad? Come here, I don't mind doing it again!_

-White Heart

* * *

August had passed by and Summer began to recede, though one could hardly tell. Or rather, the temperatures at IF's current position easily surpassed those of Planeptune in Summer.

Looking out of her window in one of Green Sigil's guest quarters, IF found a city built in three dimensions; the leanboxian capital of Revay consisted of several dozen layers, carefully integrated on top of each other and connected in various places. It was not a closed space, so one could see many layers down even from up top, though all the great parks had been wisely placed on the topmost layer. It was a green city in appearance, as befitted the Land of Green Pastures.

IF had arrived about two hours earlier per ship and found herself welcomed with smiles and happy faces all around as she made her way to the Basilicom; it was not the same curious attention one would get in Planeptune, though everyone appeared about as happy to see her.

Much to her confusion, many people were already wearing autumn garbs; shorts and skirts could hardly be found, most everyone walking in slacks and jeans, as well as long-sleeved shirts or sometimes even sweaters.

By herself, IF was quite glad that things had cooled down somewhat; she was sweating in her lighter clothes already, having to travel to Leanbox in the midst of Summer would have likely turned her into a mess. Or forced her to walk around without her coat.

Granted, considering what she saw and heard of Leanbox so far, she would not even stand out in shorts and a shirt aside from their black colouration. IF simply felt weird without her coat; that had not changed since she joined the Makers and likely never would.

The young woman flipped open her phone to check the time before nodding to herself. She had been a little early and taken the opportunity to settle in for the month of her stay, but now it was about time to meet her colleagues and Green Heart. Strangely, the thought of meeting the final CPU of the pantheon made her less giddy than the prospect of seeing Tekken and 5pb.. She had kept in contact with both of them, but talking to them in person was simply different.

Moreover, she had still not forgotten her meeting with Rei and what she learned about Tari. Ever since, she felt weird when speaking to her friends.

In this whole world, she was the only one who knew about the ninth CPU in Gamindustri. Though crestfallen and all but forgotten, Tari's Blue Heart still lived. Tari itself had fallen by its ruler's hand and nobody knew. Nobody would know, either. Nobody but IF.

The world felt slightly off whenever she was reminded of it. Nothing had changed in her everyday life, yet she kept on wondering whether there may be other secrets buried beneath the world. Remnants of even older nations, old scriptures, or perhaps even another Tome such as Histoire.

The most bothersome of it all, however, was that IF would never know for sure. She could not scour all of Gamindustri on her own and did not feel she should try, either. She already had no idea how she managed to lie her way through every conversation with people curious about her findings. First the archeologists, then her old teammates from the Guild, then Nepgear and Neptune, then Compa.

No one had noticed that she lied. Or if they did, they did not say. It also made IF wonder whether she was actually a good liar; she never thought of herself as one because she rarely saw the need to withhold the truth.

IF shook off those thoughts and decided to force herself into thinking of something else. After a moment of hesitation, she took off her coat and quickly threw it over the bed she would use for the near future. With her katars safely hanging on her belt and her pistol strapped to her thigh, the young Maker merely had to pick her wallet from one of the inner pockets and stuff it into one on her shorts. It bulged a little, but she could do nothing about that.

To ensure she did not change her mind, IF quickly left the room; her phone remained there, seeing that she did not plan on being interrupted for now. She also finished preparations at home; Compa would look after the potted plants she recently began growing. As embarassing as it was to admit her new hobby, her friend had immediately agreed to do it when she asked.

Once IF was out the door however, she had to stop once again. Her lips curled into a weak smile and she huffed in mock-exasperation. "Should have figured that. How long have you been waiting?"

Tekken smiled back at her without hesitation. "A few minutes, don't worry about it." The two women bumped fists in greeting, then the older one motioned for IF to follow and led the way. "It's good to see you again. How was your trip?"

"Same," she answered the first part before shrugging weakly. "The trip wasn't all that noteworthy. Now I know I don't get seasick though. A little surprising that there were no aquatic monsters." She could not help but go back to musing about that one in particular; the ocean was vast and without any humans to prevent the spawning of monsters, which should mean that the water was chock full of them. Yet her ferry had not encountered a single one.

Tekken chuckled at that and made a sweeping motion. "Aquatic monsters are more rare than you might think. Sure, some of the known kinds can swim, but, well, we guess that the Deity of Sin sees no sense in making something which has to be at sea, seeing that all those could actually hunt are our ferries. Leanbox is vast enough to sustain itself after all."

"I know," IF inerjected with a snort, "it's hard to miss the fact this place is a continent of its own right, though I heard Leanboxians like to joke about it." As Alexis had done on several occasions. Tekken simply nodded.

"Either way, without any monsters dedicated to the sea, well... sometimes you get a small horde making landfall, but they usually stay on the ocean floor or leave the water within hours of spawning. My Lady says that all four CPUs clean up in the depths from time to time, just in case."

"I see." It made sense when put like this; the Deity of Sin aimed to harm humankind, so simply filling the sea would do little to the people. If she could even conciously decide where her monsters spawned, which was not yet proven. Understandably, nobody could or wanted to ask Her about the matter.

IF eyed Tekken as they walked; her fellow Maker appeared as fit as usual, a spring in her step and a bright expression on her face. "How have you been doing?"

The Leanboxian answered without hesitation: "Pretty well. Did you know Cave and I are always the first to hear 5pb.'s new songs?" She did not, though she could see the reasoning behind it. IF had to grin at that.

"I didn't, but now I'm envious." Her friend laughed heartily, which was about the intended reaction. The younger woman chuckled as well, though their mirth quickly faded back into a relaxed silence.

Said silence did not hold too long, though; as Tekken led her into an elevator to rise to the top of Green Sigil, she threw IF a kind look. "I heard you're in contact with her, too." The Planeptunian made an agreeing noise, which prompted a brighter smile. "And I appreciate it a lot. We will probably tease you both about it with more people around, but I'm glad you gave her a chance; she's a sweet one."

Remembering that tranquil walk in Virtua that she had with 5pb., IF had to agree. "Yeah, she is. And thanks for the warning; can I expect teasing about our little outing, too?"

To her amusement, Tekken actually blushed a little and fiddled with the hem of her blouse. "Um, not really. I, uh, didn't tell anyone." The younger woman could not help but smirk about it, though seeing that made her colleague pout at her.

The elevator dinged and opened its doors to one of the highest storeys, releasing both Makers into another short walk. IF could not help but cast glances out of the windows; she saw parts of Revay as well as the vast ocean, even if her view was not as wide as it would be at the top of Planeptower. "Green Sigil is weird for someone unused to it," she noted off-handedly.

Tekken nodded her agreement and slowed down to look out the window as well. "Yeah, I guess so. Planeptower is just as weird if you're not used to it. Much taller, but far less wide. Lowee Castle is pretty, though." She raised a finger as she made her point and IF could only shrug.

"I haven't been there yet, despite Nep's best efforts. I probably should go there at some point, though. The twins could use the company with Nepgear and Uni eloping." Her companion snorted and they got going again, though IF remembered something she wanted to ask about. "I read that all four Basilicoms have roughly the same capacity; do you know anything about that?"

Sadly, her friend merely shrugged. "Sorry, no idea. I don't think the Black Box has a capacity to rival any of the others, though."

"Point." After all, Lastation's Basilicom was little more than a big office building with a small palace on top.

At this point however, another voice answered them from the room up ahead, its door open: "It is quite true for the most part; Noire, bless her hard-working heart, simply did not want to go along with the rest of us when we compared notes." It was a soft voice that appeared to be carried by the wind. IF could already guess who had spoken, seeing that she knew Maker Cave always employed a monotone voice.

"I take it we have arrived?" She could not help but ask Tekken, who nodded with an understanding smile.

They both turned and entered the open room, finding another three people already waiting for them, all neatly arrayed on one of two couches. A familiar blunette in a sunny sundress, an expressionless redhead clad in blue jeans and a loose, maroon-coloured shirt, and a blonde amidst the former two.

This blonde was what caught IF's eye as they entered, though. 5pb. and Cave were both noted, but her gaze remained on the woman between them; she was gorgeous. Her hair cascaded down her front and sides like liquid gold, glowing around soft features drawn into a gentle expression as she drank from a cup held by a gloved hand. Her whole appearance radiated serenity and kindness in a weird way that made IF fidget and avert her gaze shily.

She snapped out of it when Tekken slapped her back with suppressed laughter. "Yep, same as always." The younger woman blinked a few times while 5pb. and Green Heart giggled, the latter with a hand covering her mouth. Cave merely shook her head, though IF could not say what kind of emotion the gesture was meant to convey.

"It is adorable nonetheless," the CPU told Tekken warmly as she stood, moving with graceful motions to meet her. "I have been looking forward to meeting you, IF." Except that where Noire's grace was that of unopposed strength and pride, hers had an inherent softness that, instead of demanding respect, conveyed gentleness. "I am Vert, the Green Heart of Leanbox."

IF returned the woman's smile shily and took the offered hand. "I guess that makes eight out of eight then. I'm IF." Vert blinked at that for a moment before raising a hand to cover another chuckle.

"My, so you met the twins already?" She nodded, which made Vert's smile widen considerably. "They are both darlings, just like Nepgear and Uni used to be."

Now it was for IF to snort, the human woman slowly getting used to being in such an alluring presence. "I'd say Nepgear is still a darling, if less cute these days."

"Hear, hear," the surrounding Makers voiced their agreement in almost perfect unison, then broke into laughter. Even Cave, who had not shown much emotion before at all. IF had to smile at the general cheer while Vert gave her an appreciative nod.

"Quite true," she allowed with a wink. "It is so wonderful to finally meet the girl all my dear friends keep talking about. You certainly are a woman of character." The implication that she had the attention of CPUs made IF a little sheepish, but the feeling passed when a white-gloved hand rose and petted her head. As demeaning as it would normally feel, IF merely ducked slightly in the face of a goddess as she felt returned to being a small girl.

"I am afraid I have some work to take care of for now, but I am looking forward to getting to know you better. You will join us four in the evening, yes?" She only slowly stopped petting IF, who felt herself relax under the attention.

Answering took her a moment, though. "Um, I guess?" She knew she was here for work, but it was an invitation she wanted to follow.

Vert chuckled again and released her with a warm smile. "Marvelous. I will see you all in a few hours then. Welcome to Leanbox, IF." And with that, she sashayed out of the room.

In IF's defense, her fellow Makers' eyes were following Vert as well until she left their sight. Once she was gone, the brunette dropped onto the empty couch with a sigh. Vert was... intense. Noire was much more reserved and thus easier to deal with, same as Blanc. Neptune came closest, but she got used to the purplette long ago.

"It's like she isn't sure whether she wants to play up the mom or the flirt, so she's doing a bit of both," 5pb. commented with a grin. "Welcome to Leanbox, I hope you'll come to like it."

"Yeah, thanks. Good to see you're well." IF spent a moment combing her hair with her fingers, seeing that Vert had ruffled it before. Then she exchanged a nod with the present redhead. "And nice to meet you, Cave."

"Likewise. You handled our Lady quite well." The older woman delivered her compliment in a monotone, but IF got it anyway. Thinking back to the encounter with Vert made her feel a little weird though, which Cave apparently noticed. "And like most, you are a little smitten with her."

IF blinked at the redhead owlishly, wondering for a moment whether this was what having a crush felt like. Then she shrugged and put the notion aside. "Maybe so." Not that the idea did not make her blush a little, but the others thankfully did not comment on it.

"Don't sweat it," Tekken advised her with an understanding grin. "We all were or still are the same; she has that kind of effect on people."

Cave interjected again once her colleague had finished: "A saying that courses between those who know Lady Vert is that her being transcends gender and preferences; even those not interested in women will be watching her closely when she enters the room."

She delivered that entire statement in the same flat monotone, which made IF crack up at the absurdity of it. Tekken used the moment to seat herself next to the brunette, leaving them opposite to 5pb. and Cave. Though she was still the youngest in the group by a few years, IF did not feel out of place. She had gotten used to her situation by now.

In regard of age however, she realised something else. "Just, uh, I don't know what you guys had planned for the evening, but I'm not old enough to drink under leanboxian law." Even though most places would likely make an exception if a Maker asked nicely, IF would not exploit her authority and influence like that.

Twenty-one was the minimum age to drink alcohol in the Land of Green Pastures, being the highest of the four; Lowee required one be twenty years old while Planeptune and Lastation set the bar at eighteen, the latter with an exception allowing lighter spirits like beer starting at 16. IF had not really tried any alcohol yet, aside from some wine during special occasions like Compa's birthdays. She did never feel like it was a good time to experiment with such things, though she was not opposed.

"Oh, it's fine." Tekken made a discarding motion while nodding at the door which snapped shut at that moment. "We don't go drinking with Lady Vert anymore; she never actually gets drunk and then teases us about whatever we did. 5pb. is a fun drunk, though; she gets all touchy-feely." Said blunette averted her gaze sheepishly.

IF rolled her eyes at that, but let it go without any comments. Not that she would have had the time, seeing that Tekken followed up by nudging her with an elbow. "It's a little weird to see you without your coat on, though." Her soft tone of voice clearly held curiousity, making it clear this was a question; only when she said it did IF remember that she left the garment back at her room, and promptly began to feel its absence again.

It did not help that she now had 5pb.'s attention while Cave was examining her more curiously. IF slightly shrunk in on herself. "It's uh, I just figured it would be too warm to work while wearing it here, so I took it off."

Now that she was actually paying attention to it, she realised that all of her colleagues were tanned. None of the three approached chocolate-coloured skin as one imagined the typcial leanboxian to have, but IF appeared almost pale like a sheet in comparison; she clearly stood out as a foreigner.

Cave simply shrugged at her, though. "You can choose between sweating in your coat or risk getting sunburned. I recommend the sweat, it goes off with a shower and doing laundry." Her colleagues giggled and even IF found some amusement in the redhead's dry tone, though the woman herself merely tilted her head slightly.

"Either way," 5pb. interjected once she got a grip, "we should head out soon. I haven't fought small fry in a while."

"I don't think any of us have," IF told her with a shrug. "Who could have expected half of Planeptune's share of small monsters to show up here?" It was a joke she heard a few times and found funny herself; a notion which Tekken, going by her renewed giggling, obviously shared, but the reality of it was that the Guild in Leanbox could not keep up. "But you're right, let's get going."

It felt a little weird to take charge like that in another nation, but she already learned that nobody minded it much. They were all on the same side after all.

So it was that, after a short detour for IF to retrieve her coat, the four of them headed out. Many monsters would not even know what hit them.


	66. Green Like Grass 2

_Um, I do not know how you managed it. I am so sorry if it sounds rude, but it must have been horrible to live here with so many active volcanoes. Do not worry, I will fix it._

-Vert, 1 year old

* * *

IF sipped her soda in contemplation.

They had spent hours running pest control and the wave only barely ended despite the fact _four_ Makers had deployed to the same area. She never saw that many monsters in such close proximity and the fact the majority of them were Dogoos did not make it better.

There had been a pair of King Crabs and a Turtle, all of which they easily cracked; it had been her first Crabs, seeing that those were rarely seen outside of Leanbox. The problem about this, however, was that destroying the big ones set off the Dogoos and they soon had dozens of giant versions to exterminate. Which set off more Dogoos, not to mention all the other monster types.

With so many dangerous creatures around, the army could not help them much; they did two bombing runs on large groups far enough away, but had to stop once all monsters closed in too much; no one would risk bombing the Makers on accident.

Next to her sat Tekken, with 5pb. to the martial artist's other side and Cave next to the idol. Their little circle was completed by Green Heart herself, who wore a pleasant smile and the same green dress IF saw her in earlier; it had a few whites and pastels mixed in to create a warm impression, though she felt it also pronounced the blonde's bust. The cleavage did not help and she had trouble stopping her eyes from straying.

"Say, how are La-, ah, Uni and Nepgear doing?" 5pb. quickly caught her slip of the tongue and corrected herself before anyone around them could figure out who they were actually talking about. Granted, they had been given a booth in a quiet corner where most did not actually see their group, but caution was still advised.

IF shrugged weakly, but grinned at the same time. "Still getting used to being a couple, last I heard. It's a little weird that I'm the one both of them gossip with, though." She earned a round of laughter at that, though the fact Uni and Nepgear felt like sharing their progress with her of all people remained jarring. "You laugh, but I probably know more about their relationship than Nep and Noire."

The response was more laughter, though she knew they took her seriously. IF sighed good-naturedly and took another bite out of her burger with an appreciative sound.

Before coming to Leanbox, she had never expected there to be high-quality burgers. Now she knew better and was happier for it.

"My, I can imagine." It was the first time Vert had spoken up since they sat down to eat, her own plate already completely empty and a half-filled glass of wine in hand. She offered IF another pleasant smile. "You are both Nepgear's and Uni's first real friend aside from each other. Blanc and I do not really count there, we are more like aunts to them. You do not judge or ridicule either, something which Noire and Neptune still do, no matter how careful they are not to let them know it. It is their first relationship, and so they want to talk to someone."

The CPU took a sip from her wine and nodded to herself with a pleased sigh. "My, what a nice flavour." Only then did she continue on the previous topic, though her wry expression made it clear she knew exactly what she was doing. "As much as I dislike to admit it, you are likely the person they trust the most aside from their own siblings. Having met you, I can see why."

The only barely hidden compliment tinged IF's cheeks pink. By this point however, she became ever more aware that Vert smelled of sweet flowers, a scent that was not overpowering, but noticeable in that it covered their booth. None of the Makers present was big on parfume, at least not often.

"She's envious," 5pb. stage-whispered into the silence. Tekken laughed and the corners of Cave's mouth curled upward in a barely visible smirk; Vert, meanwhile, pouted.

IF simply used the distraction to calm herself and took another big sip from her soda. At least the half-dark ambience made it possible to hide her embarassment from her colleagues; not that she actually believed they had not noticed.

"Just be careful that you do not do that too often, my sweet." Vert had already recovered and rested her cheek on her palm, eyes closed pleasantly. "Or I might end up seeking a substitute to fuss over with my feminine wiles."

The blunette countered immediately: "You mean the ones that don't work on me because I'm not into blondes?" There was not a trace of her shyness at all; she had been noticeably less tense around IF earlier, this was merely proof that what she told her a long while ago was true. Once 5pb. knew someone well enough to relax, her anxiety up and vanished for some unknown reason. Though she was not sure about the topic in question.

"Are you sure about that, my dear?" Vert winked at the idol, who appeared far less secure in her views than just a moment ago.

That was when Cave delivered the killing blow: "I would not make that claim if I were you. At least one of us knows there is more to it." Owlish looks went to the redhead while 5pb. sputtered, but she simply shrugged. "I've seen her browser history."

But that were Leanboxians for you; or maybe more mature women in general. IF decided to just try not to make it too awkward and interjected, trying to change the topic: "Why did you look at her computer?"

The other woman made a quick motion toward 5pb., whose expression still rivalled a tomato. "We're roommates, at least technically. She is rarely home due to her other job, but we share the same place for convenience. My own computer broke recently, so she let me use hers while mine was being repaired."

"And as it turned out," the blunette added miserably, "Cave is the kind who always deletes her browser history."

"It's cleaner." As she concluded, Cave picked up her half-eaten burger. "Suffice it to say, she doesn't do it and I saw some things when I opened hers." Then she took a bite, her piece said.

"My, oh my." Vert giggled behind her gloved hand while 5pb. turned her gaze to the floor. IF felt sympathy for the embarassed woman, though she was also glad it was not herself who got teased like that. Yet, sitting together with colleagues and having a meal like that made her feel content.

Which, unfortunately, delivered ammunition to Tekken. "I just notice how cute you are when you smile like that." And with a single sentence, all attention was on IF, who only barely managed not to sputter.

"You're right, Tek. She does smile so rarely, though." She probably deserved that, considering that she only made a token attempt to help 5pb. before, but it still bothered her.

"Perhaps she will leave in a better mood than she arrived in," Cave noted in-between bites. "Many people do."

"Because they get laid, Cave," 5pb. deadpanned.

"Oh, right."

IF sighed and shook her head at their banter. "Yeah, no. That's unlikely to happen... I don't get why you think I'm in a bad mood, though." She quickly added the last part once she realised the kind of discussion she would have begun otherwise.

Thankfully, they took the distraction. Tekken made a throwing motion directed into the distance, indicating the area outside of Revay. "It's because we mostly see you at work, where you don't smile much at all." 5pb. nodded, apparently in agreement.

"Is she different outside of work?" Cave had leaned forward a little, eyeing her colleagues with a hint of curiousity. Vert appeared content with just listening while IF could still not believe that she had gotten out of that other topic.

"A bit," the blunette answered honestly before finishing off her own burger and patting her belly. "Urgh, they still make these large portions. How can normal people eat that much?" IF had to agree, the portion each of them got was enough to sate Makers, who were well known for their physical fitness and appetite. Then again, she had a guess.

A guess which Vert confirmed momentarily: "That is because you were recognised by the staff. They know your needs as well as you do, so you probably got twice the normal portion. Us Leanboxians look out for each other after all." She threw a passing server a bright smile; the man, unaware of what it was for, smiled back and quickly carried on.

Her little distraction done, Vert turned back to her Makers. "Have you really never noticed?"

5pb. shrugged while Tekken finished munching on a few fries. The martial artist poked her colleague with one elbow. "Afraid you'll get all chubby if you eat too much, little mage?"

"Mhm, maybe the fat would actually go into my tits for once." Both women giggled over the playful retort while IF wondered if this was how Leanboxians always were. Then again, her circle of friends mainly consisted of sweet Compa and polite Nepgear for the last few years. Neither of them would talk like that even if they were the same age.

Cave merely shook her head and softly slapped her own chest with one fist. "You should be happy yours are on the small side. All those acrobatics actually hurt if they go on too long." IF made an affirmative noise, which brought her a short nod. "IF over there has the perfect body for field work, really." She nodded back, this time fully in agreement.

There had been a time where IF had lamented her lack of breasts, but it had only been a short phase at the end of puberty. After hearing Compa complain about her sports bras and seeing that she could not even run properly without wobbling unless she wore one, IF had found a great amount of confidence in her own body. At this point, with the atmosphere as infectious as it was, she decided to throw in her two credits: "I'll say that it's incredibly nice I don't have to wear a bra into combat. RED kept complaining every other day. I just need some bindings so it doesn't chafe."

She thumped her own chest for emphasis and snickered over the sudden envious expressions she got from everyone except Vert; the CPU merely hid a smile behind her hand.

The first one to break into laughter was 5pb., with the rest quickly following. "You know how they say in Lowee," the blunette added mirthfully once she caught her breath, "flat is justice." And everyone descended into incoherence again, including IF.

She liked the atmosphere and the food; if Leanbox was like this all the time, the young Maker would definitely enjoy her stay.

**. .**

**. .**

The following morning saw her falling out of routine, at least somewhat; seeing that her usual gym was currently half a world away, she decided to use the Basilicom's internal facilities. Those were meant and equipped for the Makers, meaning that she had peace and quiet as she worked out all morning. Tekken did her own workouts mostly in the afternoon and evening, spending mornings with running.

At around the halfway mark, an hour before noon, she got a visitor. Not an attendant or one of her fellow Makers, but Green Heart herself; Vert entered with a calm graze and sat down by her side quietly. IF took notice of her, but finished her weight-lifting sequence properly without a second thought.

Once she put the weight back on its rack and rested her arms, the young woman greeted her visitor. "Good morning. Could you pass me my water?"

"Good morning to you too, IF." Vert simply reached over to pick up the half-emptied bottle and held it out to the human woman, who took it after thanking her. "It is no problem."

Only now did IF sit up, having rested after the last stretch of her physical exercises. She quickly emptied the bottle in long gulps, seeing that staying hydrated was important while working out; doubly so with long workouts like her own. Vert waited patiently for her finish, though the silence only made IF painfully aware of the fact she was a sweaty mess right now, with a prim and proper goddess right by her side.

Once she felt somewhat refreshed, the brunette spoke up while wiping a sheen of sweat off her forehead: "Is something the matter?" She quickly took the towel Vert offered her to wipe herself somewhat clean, though her clothes were more or less drenched anyway. She would shower like she did every day.

"Not directly," her host told her warmly. "I was merely curious about you. Hearing all my dear friends talk about you made me quite curious; they praise you quite a lot, all of them." Hearing this made IF avert her gaze in embarassment; she could guess that the CPUs mentioned her, but actually having it confirmed made her feel light again. Once more she found that she really reached the top.

Vert simply chuckled. "I have not yet found anything wrong about the description they gave about you. You are a pleasant young lady, although in need of a shower." She chuckled when IF blushed, gently tapping the younger woman's shoulder to snap her out of it. "Please, I am not so shallow as to be offended by your state after you worked yourself so hard. Though I can see you disagree on the matter, so off you go. We can talk more at another time, it was rude of me to interrupt you in the first place."

"Sure, I don't mind." IF was not sure what the CPU herself would want to talk to her about, but it did not matter much. She quickly got up and gathered her things, then strolled toward the showers with a wave to the rising deity.

Vert herself shook her head once the girl turned away, lips curled into a pleased smile. She had confirmed much with just the previous evening and this short encounter, finding the girl almost exactly as her friends had described her. A prospect which made her presence positively thrilling; Vert could see what all of them saw, a budding heroine that was still on the rise.

**. .**

**. .**

By the time IF returned, Vert still sat in the deserted gym; she had made herself comfortable on one of the benches and enjoyed a mindless game on her phone. She often did that to pass the time, thoughts on other matters as her fingers solved puzzles or matched objects without much effort.

In fact, the blonde was so absent that she did not notice IF's return, which allowed the young Maker to step behind her to watch. She could only follow the speed of her fingers because the software was made for humans; inhuman input speed was never considered and thus not implemented.

Vert almost crushed her phone when IF cleared her throat, the CPU almost flinching at being surprised in such a way. She softly pressed a hand to her heart in fake indignation. "How vile, to scare a lady like that."

IF just rolled her eyes and regained the sass being around Neptune had naturally built up. "Says the world's apex predator." Her dry tone conveyed the brunette's thoughts on the matter quite accurately.

Vert held her pose for a moment longer, then she broke into a smile and relaxed. "You do have a point. It is refreshing for someone to speak to me so freely; even my Makers get a little intimidated by who I am." She clicked her phone shut after turning it to standby, the sound underlining her words.

"I blame Nep." The human woman shrugged weakly and offered a hand, which was taken without hesitation. Pulling Vert up was interesting, though; she felt light, especially when considering her build. "Do people not notice that you're too light for your appearance?"

She received a thoughtful look and a mischievous smile before Vert did something she never thought was possible; the CPU made her own chest jiggle without moving any other part of her body. Then she leaned forward and ran a finger over IF's cheek. "While it is rude to ask someone about their weight, you are right. Blanc keeps insisting that my breasts are hot air balloons because of it, but this is not the case. Share Energy cares little for mass, IF."

She stepped back and jiggled again, then motioned for the blushing girl to follow her. "I rarely let anyone pick me up or carry me, so nobody notices unless I step on a scale somewhere. Walk with me for a bit?"

"S-Sure." IF quickly forced herself to calm down, trying her best to get the weird feeling out of her system. She might be crushing, she figured; she was probably crushing a little, but she could not blame herself. Green Heart was gorgeous and knew exactly how to play her looks and demeanor to the greatest possible effect.

That did not mean she had to be happy about it, though. Interacting with CPUs was already not that easy if she just met them; Nepgear explained to her how they would not date humans some time ago, so she knew it would be a fruitless crush on top of it.

In difference to many others however, for IF, the mind was greater than the heart. She got her feelings under control before long, Vert having let the silence hang for a little while.

It would take a while to actually get over the fact she was actually, honestly crushing, but at least she knew it would not make her a stuttering mess before someone who was obviously an experienced seductress... and tease.

"It is sad that I did not get to meet you sooner, truly." The older woman noted wistfully, her words dragging IF out of her own head. "While it is your first visit to Leanbox," she pre-empted the brunette, "I have been in Planeptune the previous year when we came together; I had my hands full with Blanc as usual, though."

Vert chuckled while IF tried to make sense of what she had been told. This was complete news to her. "You and Blanc were in Planeptune? Why is that?"

This time she elicited an actually surprised reaction; Vert blinked at her as they walked, arm dropping to her side in her perhaps first unplanned motion of the day. "You do not know?" When the human shook her head, she sighed. "Well, I guess it makes sense she would not tell you. The four of us, Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and I, meet up for one day once a year. No work, no business, no human friends, just us. Neptune insisted on this long ago, when we first formed our nations; she said we should all take at least a day to get together as friends instead of rulers or business partners, to relax and have fun together. I quite agree with her there and believe all of us have grown fond of these days."

Her explanation complete, the CPU brought up her hand again and folded it in front of herself as they walked through the warmly painted hallways; green, grass-like carpet covered the floor everywhere, underlining the fact they were in Leanbox. "In fact, another such day is next week. We are all meeting here this year."

"Huh, I had no idea." IF could see how such a tradition would be important to the gods. She was a little confused why neither of her divine friends ever mentioned the matter at all, but Vert already said humans were not brought along. Maybe Neptune and Nepgear simply figured it did not matter.

Thinking of Neptune began to highlight the other new information, though. IF could not help but sigh once she noticed. "And with that timing, chances are she sent me here right now on purpose."

Vert softly put a finger to her chin to convey thoughtfulness, though the amused twinkle in her eyes remained. "I do not know about that, though it does sound quite like Neptune to do such a thing. I can imagine she will want to brag about you again."

"Wait, why would she brag?"

The blonde actually chuckled heartily, a sound that almost felt soothing even while IF did her best to shake off the feeling. "My, because we all love to brag and you are certainly worth bragging about. Appointed at eighteen and in the upper half of the current generation already. You stand out next to people like Broccoli, MAGES., Tekken, and even Falcom."

She chuckled again while IF lowered her head in resignation; the people who passed them did not seem to hear their conversation, seeing that Vert covertly kept a magical screen around them to project silence.

"I'd say I'm not that special, but I can't even make myself believe that." Once she had accepted that she did not reach her position through connections, IF no longer had any excuse to deny that she was indeed special. "But, uh, you really don't seem like the kind to brag. Same for Noire and Blanc, really."

Vert had little else than a shrug for her. "It is a guilty pleasure of sorts, something we only indulge in while among ourselves. Neptune always loved to brag about the unusual people she befriended, and recently about Nepgear's impressive feats. Noire always brags about Lastation and its achievements, most recently about Uni as well. Blanc prefers to make fun of the rest of us for whatever we talk about, though she joins with notions of her entertainment industry often enough."

It was delivered matter-of-factly, yet with a certain fondness to it. In the meantime, they had made their way through corridors and rode the elevator all the way up. Noticing that they were at the very top did not stop IF from asking the expected question, though: "And what do you brag about?"

She faintly wondered if asking this may be a little too personal, but her concerns vanished as fast as they appeared. Vert opened up a door leading into a bigger room and offered her a smile. "I have few preferences in that regard. Though it riles Blanc up a great deal whenever I brag about my body, which makes that a decided favourite."

IF followed with a shake of her head; finding amusement in angering a CPU was once again a fitting trait for a CPU. No one else would be that insane.

Then she beheld where they stood, and stopped. All around them were plants; flowers, trees, herbs, and many more. Various kinds were scattered across the vast room, or rather hall; sunlight flooded in through an open roof, retracted glass panels barely visible at the opening's edges.

It felt a bit like an actual jungle, with small critters and even insects and spiders abound, though all of those fled the presence of a CPU. IF could not help but gawk for a long while, until a gloved hand gently guided her inside. "This is another little something I am quite proud of. I felt that even if I turn everything green, it is still nothing compared to the vibrant wilds. I think I did quite well in reimagining the world outside the city, no?"

Were it not for the door and limited expanse of the room, IF would indeed believe herself in the wilds. The walls were not even visible under all those various plants. The only real sign of human influence within this realm, though IF herself would not realise it, was that the entire place had been arranged to impress onlookers.

"It's amazing."

"Quite so." Vert let go of IF and made a sweeping motion to encompass the room. "This area doubles as a quiet refuge for my Makers. It feels much nicer to be in than a boring lounge. Any visiting Makers have the same right, of course; so if you ever feel you rather be alone for a bit, you can always come up here."

"I see." IF was still looking around with visible wonder, though she began to get a hold of herself at this point. "Thanks, I think I'll drop by at least once." And she meant it, too; her recently acquired hobby and related research had given IF a new appreciation for plants. With these being leanboxian specimens, she found many types she never saw before.

"I am glad you like it." Vert offered her another warm smile as she motioned for the door behind them. "Though I have to take my leave now; it is time to get back to work. Enjoy yourself, IF."

"Sure." IF could not help but return the smile, the presence of so much green around her oddly calming. "Thanks for showing me the place."

"Oh, it was nothing." They exchanged a wave and the blonde turned to leave. "I will see you around."

And with that, IF was alone; just her and all those plants. She never even realised how interesting those were before she began to read up on them.

Taking a look at her phone's clock and considering how much time she had until her shift started, she decided to stay for a while and explore.


	67. Green Like Grass 3

_Remember, humans are squishy and vulnerable. That doesn't mean they can't do anything alone like Noire and Blanc like to pretend, but it means there are things they just can't do period. Just keep it in mind, kay? They are humans because they have limit and we are gods because we don't, at least not in any comparable way._

-Neptune

* * *

A few days passed uneventfully, though Tekken soon joined IF's workouts in the morning. It was merely a slight shift to accomodate them having company while they exercised; IF did not even mind it.

What she noticed, however, was the incredible regimen her fellow Maker loaded onto herself. IF's own regimen was brutal to an outside observer, but Tekken did easily twice as much of every single segment. She did not complain about it in the slightest, but rather appeared to be more content when they moved toward noon; they would then do some exercises separately, shower, and grab lunch together before getting to work.

At the end of the first week, IF could not help but ask as they left the gym: "Are you really okay doing that many reps? I'd be an aching mess."

Much to her surprise, Tekken actually _giggled_ about it. The sound lasted a long moment and made IF wonder; she did not have to guess for long, seeing that the older woman's expression changed to a mixture of content and sheepishness. "Well, it is. But I actually feel good like this."

"Okay, uh..." Unfortunately, she could not really put the statement. It made Tekken's good mood flake off a little, replaced by a slightly pink tinge of her cheeks.

"Let me clarify: I feel _really_ good." With the emphasis she put on the word, as well as her slowly darkening blush, IF put two and two together.

"Oh." She did not blame herself for having failed to understand at first, but the subject matter had spread a decidedly uncomfortable silence over them. Moments passed where neither spoke, the two women quietly walking.

Then Tekken sighed and spoke up again: "I still hurt like normal when I started working out, but... at some point, it started feeling good instead. Maybe I've always been a masochist, I don't know. But it's really nice to work my body until I'm aching all over. I don't really mind talking about it, but I guess you'd rather not." IF nodded quietly, thankful for Tekken's attentiveness; her fellow Maker made a drawn-out 'hmm' as she thought, then poked her shoulder for attention. "Actually, when did you start working out? I've been at it since I was fourteen, well, like this at least. I did sports before that point."

IF eyed the Leanboxian in surprise, wondering what might have happened at fourteen for her to decide she wanted to break her own body. Maybe she would ask about that later.

First of all, she thought back and answered the question: "I have been working out since about as long as I can remember. I started a few months before I turned six." IF raised an eyebrow when she saw Tekken gawk. "What? Little me decided that I would be a Maker, so I worked as hard as I could to make it happen."

"Aww, that's so cute to imagine!" This made IF swat her friend's shoulder, who laughed it off. "I mean it, and it's impressive too! You always wanted this very thing, and you made it come true. I don't think I ever even considered where I would be before Lady Vert approached me." Tekken's soft voice had gained a thoughtful note as she mused. "I, well, I was under Bungie's wing for a little while after joining the Guild, but I mostly did the exercises for myself."

That was news to her; she heard that Bungie and Tekken got along well, but not that they had a teacher-student relationship. Especially considering the student's affliction. "What about your phobia?"

IF's question made Tekken stop and fidget; she looked around to make sure no one was around before sighing. "That's how he noticed me, really. Uh... I kind of decked him back then."

A beat.

IF remained quiet, waiting for Tekken to break her sheepish silence, which she did a moment later: "It was an accident, more or less. He didn't know and scared me and I just, just punched him with all I had. He actually engaged his Awakening on reflex and only got a nasty bruise, but I broke my hand. After that, he told me there was a lot of potential in someone who can hit as hard as I did, and started coaching me from afar after I made my A-rank. Then I got my own Awakening and, well, here I am."

A slightly awkward silence spread between them when Tekken finished, IF being unsure how to respond and her colleague sheepish as she recalled the events.

Seconds passed before the brunette simply decided to get moving again. "Why did you punch so hard you broke your hand?" It felt innocious enough to ask about that instead of anything else in the recounting; Tekken quickly fell into step by her side, answering without much hesitation.

"It is, um, not really something I control, you know? I just get so scared that my fight reflex kicks in; I lost the flight part, or never had it, no idea. Either way, uh, I just end up punching with all I have." As if on cue, the male attendant walking their way quickly stepped over to the wall on their left while Tekken switched positions with IF to be on the right-side wall. She still offered him a small nod and received a quick bow in turn, then he was past them. "But I got at least better at holding it back. At this point, it only happens if a man touches me, and I can even shake hands with someone I know well."

The older Maker appeared genuinely happy as she told IF about it, who could not even imagine what it would be like. Then again, she rarely did more than shake hands with men she met; Leanbox had a somewhat huggy culture though, an embrace being a usually well-received greeting. "What about children?"

Tekken quickly shook her head, expression visibly distressed. "I am not going to risk that in the first place; I'm not going near any child on principle unless I have to."

"Makes sense."

IF left it at that and decided that she dug enough in Tekken's past. They had work to do.

**. .**

**. .**

An hour later, four Makers stood in the vast grassland that was Leanbox. The pasture went far toward the horizon, sometimes interrupted by a handful of trees. Revay sat behind them, covering the entirety of their field of view in its direction. Like any gamindustrian city, it was vast; vaster still than most, seeing that the Leanboxians tended to large herds of livestock and needed the space so those critters could walk and graze.

IF checked her phone to find a message from Neptune, the purplette teasing her about being in town but not telling her where. She just rolled her eyes and texted back to greet Noire and Blanc, to which she received shocked emojis.

She could almost imagine the pouty face her friend would likely make in these moments, but focussed on what was ahead.

"Five Dolphins and a Whale in the sky," Cave noted impassively as her binoculars slowly wandered over the area. "Three King Crabs, another Dolphin on the ground. Spread out. Main body is mostly Dogoos; confirmed colours: blue, red, yellow. Boxbirds, Wolves, Pixelvaders, all in small quantities; perhaps a few dozen in total, spread into smaller groups. No Bits."

While the redhead gave them an overview, the other Makers were keeping an eye on their position so a sneaking monster could not catch her unaware; the four of them were situated on the cliffside connected to Revay. It granted them the high ground and a good view onto the work cut out for them.

All these monsters had wandered in to fill the gaps left by the previous week's work; be it the sounds of battle or the free space, or something else which drew them near, it made their task appear unending. Yet IF knew that this meant cities further inland were no longer in danger of being attacked.

The horde did not move as one yet, though they knew it was just a matter of time. Cave fell quiet once she had nothing more to report, leaving an eery silence hanging above them for a moment. IF broke it with a sigh as she beheld the mass of Dogoos. "At least they don't randomly eat whatever ground they are on, or Lady Vert would have to do overtime."

No one laughed, not even IF. The brunette sighed again and formed a roof over her eyes with one hand so she could focus without direct sunlight shining into them. "The air force is ready, right?"

"Yup." Tekken answered without hesitation, being the one they dedicated to staying in contact with their allies for the day. "All ready. Do you want to get the airborne monsters first?"

IF made a vague noise as she thought. "It sounds like a good idea on paper, you know? There are only a handful, even if they are Dolphins."

"I agree," Cave supplied without so much as looking at them, her binoculars still directed at the monsters, "attempting to attack the King Crabs or small monsters first would only lead to Giant Dogoos. Only 5pb. has the fine control and efficiency to make a difference there, and we need her for ranged combat already."

The idol nodded, hands folded behind her back as she walked up next to IF. "It's probably the best we can do right now. I don't want to fight that many while there are Dolphins above us."

"Think you can get them from here?"

5pb. squinted upward at the distant specks in the sky, which were five kilometres away; Cave supplied the numbers a moment later. The blunette mulled it over for a moment, then nodded to IF. "I will need a little more juice, but I think I can get them. Tek, tell our birdies to get ready for launch; their signal is the Dolphins up high exploding."

"Kay."

Tekken immediately began to relay 5pb.'s words while IF stepped back and softly tapped Cave's shoulder with her boot. "Anything else you found?"

"One pretty dense cluster of Dogoos toward the center; those might form into a bigger one. Otherwise, another King Crab hidden below a hundred or so Dogoos. I missed it on my first pass."

IF gave a slow nod, though Cave did not see it; the numbers were ridiculous, as was befitting of a situation that required the Makers, but they had the advantage and the initiative. Both would be gone if those creatures decided to charge Revay, the city lying merely a few dozen kilometres away.

"No Ancient Dragons, no Turtles. That's surprisingly tame," she mused quietly, then bowed her head toward Tekken and 5pb. as they stared at her. "Yeah, I'll buy you a drink if I just jinxed it."

"The first time I'd be happy not to have a drink on someone else's tab," the idol quipped before taking Cave's binoculars. "I'll take that and get a better read on the airborne monsters." She sat down while the redhead stood and brushed herself off, though being covered in dust and a little dirt did not seem to bother her too much.

While their mage began to prepare for her assault, the other three quickly figured out who would do what after the bombing run. Tekken would fight the King Crabs they found and make quick work of them while IF exterminated the remaining Dogoos. Cave, in the meantime, would team up with 5pb. and back up the other two in case something unexpected happened. Two in front, two in the back.

The stoic redhead drew steel that appeared curved like a scissor blade and nodded quietly; Tekken threw a few punches in the air while IF made a last check of her equipment. She was basically on pest control duty, but it did not bother her too much.

Then 5pb. began to shimmer; one, two, four, six, seven orbs slowly floated out of her palms, gleaming blue as all raw magic did. Within however, the other three could see lightning bolts going this way and that, searching for a way out. "Ready to launch," the blunette told them calmly; most of her attention was on maintaining seven separate spheres.

"Then go," Tekken told her; she and IF both stepped toward the cliffside and readied themselves to jump down.

5pb. merely nodded in response and put the binoculars back before her eyes; the spheres under her control zipped off; a minute passed, then two. They could not actually see the projectiles anymore, but their colleague remained focussed on the distant monsters.

Then those same monsters vanished in a bright explosion, the crackle of electricity inaudible at the distance. Silvery particles exploded into the sky, alerting the monsters below; 5pb. simply handed the binoculars back to Cave and took a deep breath, wiping a bit of sweat off her face. "Wow. My sister makes this look so easy."

None of them commented and they were not expected to; everyone listened and soon, the air exploded as the air force moved in. Escorts veered away when the sky was confirmed as clear, allowing their bombers a free run on the fields below. No less than five wings dropped their cargo above the alerted but unsuspecting monsters, creating a carpet of flame that engulfed vast areas.

"Did they seriously use napalm?" IF could not help but ask, but the others shrugged at her.

"It's not like the marks stay longer than a day or two," Tekken told her before pointing at the flames filled with silver. "There are some stragglers, let's drive them into the fire. Good hunting!" And with that, she jumped.

IF simply muttered while following her friend down the cliffside. Air rushed past her at blinding speed, but she had no fear even as the ground quickly closed in on her.

Moments before impact, she engaged her Awakening; instead of covering herself with the protective shroud however, IF pushed it outward to form a small pillar which absorbed her momentum without much trouble. It pushed a nearly cylindrical hole into the ground though, a metre deep.

Pushing herself upward with the energy, IF cancelled it moments before she landed on the soft earth, feet first and unharmed. Tekken had landed a few metres to her side and just made to dart forward; the inferno appeared a lot more intimidating when seen from the same height, but she dashed toward the flames anyway.

Her target was a Giant Dogoo that hopped away from the spreading flames. It did not live for long, seeing that IF's own fire quickly took care of it.

Tekken, meanwhile, picked up a King Crab's partly molten form that made its way out of the firestorm before throwing it back inside. The monster screeched all the way, its impact inaudible over the crackling and roaring of the flames.

Macabre light played over the Makers as they worked, more or less methodically erasing any monster not yet caught within the inferno. The few that made it out of there were quickly disposed of or thrown back in, depending on their kind and who came upon them first. Bolts of lightning curved around the two, adding the scent of ozone to the smoke that never touched them; 5pb. kept a solid grasp on the air currents to ensure none of them would end up poisoned.

IF knew that this would not be enough to kill all the monsters, seeing that they could only cover a small part of the blaze; survivors in other areas were likely to escape. Yet this was better than having to fight them all, greatly easing the burden on them. Some agents from the Guild would track any large monsters for them to hunt down later, the small fry could be cleaned out some other time.

It was the first time IF had ever seen napalm in use; she called in bombing runs or armoured vehicles a fair number of times since becoming a Maker, but this had an entirely different feeling to it. She needed to stay aware of her surroundings lest the flames encircle her.

Yet the young Maker's blood boiled and her body moved with the same speed and skill she always held. She was not afraid. Had she seen the small shape waddling out of the flames however, her feelings may have been different.

A pair of Giant Dogoos chased Tekken in her direction, the slime monsters deformed by the heat while napalm burned in places on their gelatinous bodies; the Makers passed by each other and IF quickly took care of her friend's pursuers before turning.

Only to see Tekken attempt to grab another small creature, and receive a slap to the arm that sent her flying with an audible crunch.

The other woman screamed in pain and engaged her Awakening, crashing through several trees before her flight was stopped by a large rock. IF's eyes widened, but stayed on the creature she had missed so far. Its features edged themselves into her mind.

Light blue it was, small like a Dogoo, but obviously more solid. It took the shape of a seahorse with two pairs of wings, as well as a gleaming yellow stone on its forehead.

IF grew cold, her body moving on instinct as she burned another Dogoo leaping for her side out of existence.

A Clione.

"What happened?!"

5pb.'s horrified voice broke the momentary trance and IF's thoughts returned; the monster slowly hobbled toward her, more curious than hostile. Behind it roared the flames, though they did not seem to bother it in the slightest. Green glimmers returned a small patch of black skin to its light blue tone.

With no other monsters nearby, IF quickly delivered a response while stepping back from the creature. "Tek is down, go and recover her. I'll manage." She would not. "And don't come closer." Though she wanted to have friends around.

Another step back. IF's heel caught on a stone and she tripped, falling over backward; this time, the young woman did not manage to catch her fall and landed square on her back. A wolf charged in on the prey it assumed immobilised, only to be speared through by a blue spike; the aura quickly retrated back into IF, whose eyes never really strayed from the Clione; it was watching her now, unmoving, while confused questions came in from 5pb. still.

For an insanity-filled moment, she considered playing dead in the hopes of losing its interest. But then it might go after her friends.

So instead, IF felt for her phone while trying not to move too fast; she managed to keep the Clione standing in wonder for another two seconds before it hobbled forward again. IF scrambled to her feet by that point, fingers going for speed-dial three, Neptune. The monster began hopping now, forcing IF to retreat faster; her body was drenched in sweat, both from the flames and the presence of death.

She let the phone ring seven times before ending the call, making a dismissive sound. Figures. Then, almost desperately, IF pressed speed-dial one, Nepgear.

Her call was picked up with a friendly hello immediately, but IF had no time for niceties: "Nepgear," she barked into her phone, "I don't care how, but call Nep. I need her with me in the field and I need her _now_. There's a Clione just a few metres in front of me."

"_What!?_" That was 5pb., still listening to her. Nepgear did not even answer, she ended the call immediately to contact Neptune, who had her regular phone turned off while being with her fellow CPUs.

"Just like I said, so stay away. How is Tek?" IF had to walk faster now, yet did not dare turn around to run. Cliones were not lumbering behemoths, but fast.

"Bad," Cave told her curtly. "Her left arm is shattered and will require surgery at least. Maybe she will lose it entirely. She passed out from the pain. I can not tell if she has any internal injuries."

"Still better than being dead," IF countered. "If that thing hit her in the face..." she did not finish the sentence; she did not need to, they all knew.

Silence descended, underlined by the steadily crackling flames spreading around.

IF knew that she was not up to facing this creature; Cliones were small like Dogoos but sturdy enough to weaken even Awakening-boosted blows. While it was possible to kill them, they also possessed powerful healing magic that made anything but a single decisive strike meaningless. In addition, they hit so hard that no human could protect themself from their strength.

In short, these were monsters men was not meant to fight. They were in the realm of the gods.

And she had to face one on her own. Her time was up; the creature made faster leaps to reach her, stubby arms spread out as if to hug IF. Instincts screamed and she ducked below its leap, quickly punching the monster upward with a literal spike of her Awakening.

The Clione went flying and a lightning bold sizzled past IF, shocking a Wolf mid-jump. It sailed right past her but did not disperse.

IF cast a single glance back to find 5pb. standing in the distance, her blue hair and dark garb setting her apart from the green of the grass and the red of the encroaching flames.

Then she turned her attention back to the Clione, which only now reached the apex of its ascent. The creature's arms were spread as if in joy, eyes lying on IF with clear intent to reach her. IF moved as it fell, ignoring the wet slap of its impact.

She tried to think, but no thoughts came. Nepgear would do something, she only had to hold out. Running was no option, she could not let this thing drop off the radar. She could only stall for time.

So stalling she did as best as she could, constantly retreating from the inferno; the Clione continued to leap her way in a manner almost playful, wanting merely to embrace the new person without realising that doing so would kill her.

Various magical projectiles impacted around them, picking off stragglers that attempted to jump at the focussed Maker. 5pb. told her that Cave fell back with Tekken in a short lull, but kept quiet otherwise.

IF could not tell how much time passed; she weaved around the clumsy attempts to reach her, staying far enough away not to receive a sudden slap. Yet she knew she could not keep this up forever, her Awakening being used only sparingly and where absolutely necessary. She would tire eventually. Monsters did not tire.

She rolled and leaped, leaned back and sidestepped, did everything she could think of. Her muscles did not falter under the strain as the fire slowly spread, second by second passing. It felt like hours to her.

Yet somehow, she managed. Her whole body ached from the fast exertions, but it had not faltered or even taken harm under the strain. When the land began to glow and the flames faded in an instant, IF knew she made it.

That one moment cost her dearly; a single moment in which her focus wavered, her muscles relaxed, and she noticed the Clione too late. It once again flew right at her.

IF made to dodge, to sidestep the creature as she had done so often. She pulsed her Awakening and managed to move almost fast enough. The Clione was about to sail past, almost appearing confused as it had so many times before.

Then its stubby arm lashed out so fast she hardly saw it, effortlessly breaking through the aura and slamming against her retreating arm. IF felt the force almost tear it off, only the ingrained strength of her Awakening keeping it there. Her enhanced mind went through the cracks one by one, until her bone finally broke in three, the middle part almost ground to dust.

IF was not sent flying; she tumbled through the air instead, landing two metres from where she stood before. The impact drove the air out of her lungs while the soft earth beneath her was torn apart.

Pins and needles surged through her left arm, accompanied by a burning pain that kept surging back and forth. She could not even scream, merely groan as even so much as twitching that arm sent another red-hot spike through it.

Even with all the adrenaline coursing through her, the pain almost overwhelmed IF. But her mind held, forced the pain away so she could focus.

Pushing her right hand off the ground, she quickly got back to her feet. Then a streak of light sailed past her and impacted the turning Clione, revealing itself to have been a blade as long as IF was tall. The black and purple weapon pierced through her adversary while she felt the presence of four CPUs numb her pain a little further. They were up above, then right next to her. IF blinked.

All four. Much the same as in their civilian forms except for Neptune, the Planeptunian and Lastationite armed with two blades, Green Heart with a spear that matched her battle dress in colour, and White Heart with a vicious axe that matched her own bodysuit.

Black and white particles filled the air, fused with it, as Blanc and Noire put out the flames. Neptune and Vert made to fight, no, _end_ the Clione in a flurry of stabs and slashes that it could not heal against.

IF numbly examined her own arm, then looked away when she saw the bone sticking out halfway. It did not even look like an arm anymore. She shuddered and slowly walked away, keeping herself steady. She needed to sit down.

Then a pair of arms pulled her into a desperate embrace. "You're okay!" 5pb. appeared more happy than IF had ever seen her, holding her tightly for a few long moments until IF took a sharp breath. The blunette got her first good look at her friend's injury when she let go, having approached her from the unseen side. Her eyes widened while IF shrugged weakly.

"Not as good as I'd like, but yeah." She felt woozy, but shook it off.

Meanwhile, 5pb. was staring at IF's horrible wound, unable to look away. At least until Purple Heart and Green Heart approached them; each CPU took her respective Maker's hand and pulled them aside. "Tell me what happened," Vert instructed.

Meanwhile, Neptune eyed IF's arm with a critical eye and pained expression. "Too late again," she muttered to herself, though IF might as well have imagined it with how secure the next words were: "I need to right your bone before I can heal it. You will need to see a doctor either way. We have this in hand, Isa. It's okay to sleep for now."

IF blink at her owlishly, needing a moment to understand. Then she sighed and leaned forward, against her warm and safe friend. "Alright. Sorry for ruining your day off."

And with that, she let go; with her will no longer focussed on keeping her awake, the young woman was out like a light. She sagged against Neptune, who caught her as gently as she could.

The goddess herself sighed as well, though not out of exhaustion. Green Heart and 5pb. were still busy, as were the two currently mopping up the remaining monsters nearby. With no one watching, she allowed herself to stroke Isabelle's head lovingly.

The Makers had more lost than won today, but they fared better than most others even of their own exclusive group would have.


End file.
